New York City's Mayor Bill De Blasio released a statement on Wednesday after a press conference in which he expressed his sorrow for the death of Eric Garner and announced his dedication to curbing excessive force and reducing "overuse and abuse of stop-and-frisk."
"These goals - of bringing police and community closer together and changing the culture of law enforcement -- are why we have introduced so many reforms this year," De Blasio said. "It starts at the top with [New York Police] Commissioner [Bill] Bratton - a strong, proven change agent. We have dramatically reduced the overuse and abuse of stop-and-frisk. We have initiated a comprehensive plan to retrain the entire NYPD to reduce the use of excessive force and to work with the community. We have changed our marijuana policy to reduce low-level arrests, and we have launched a new pilot program for body cameras for officers to improve transparency and accountability."
De Blasio said the investigation into Garner's death is not over and that reforms are long-term goals. "The grand jury is but one part of the process," he said. "There will still be an NYPD internal investigation. And we know the U.S. Attorney is continuing her investigation. Should the federal government choose to act, we stand ready to cooperate."
