Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark has released the findings of a 23-page report on the Public Integrity Bureau’s investigation into an incident involving Bronx teen, Jahmel Leach, and the NYPD which took place on Fordham Road on June 1, 2020. A video of the incident was also released on the same day, May 18. The report found no criminality on the part of the NYPD in terms of the officers’ use of force against Jahmel, during the incident.

 

The report was released days before the world marked the first anniversary of the killing of George Floyd, an African American, by convicted ex-police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. The event sparked a wave of protests across the world in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and a global awakening regarding the prevalence of systemic racism throughout societal systems. The protests which unfolded on Fordham Road in the Bronx on June 1, 2020 followed the widespread outcry over Floyd’s death. Meanwhile, Chauvin is appealing his conviction.

 

Shocking photos of Jahmel which had circulated on social media in the aftermath of the June 1 incident showed his face and mouth bloodied and swollen. Yamil Miller, Jahmel’s uncle, told the Norwood News last year, that he was a caregiver to the teen at the time, as Jahmel’s mother had been unwell. Speaking to us by phone at the time, Miller said the teen had required emergency dental surgery the night of the incident.

 

“I was notified around one o’clock in the morning on June 2, [2020] that Jahmel had been in the hospital, and that the doctors needed permission from his mother to perform an emergency surgery on him. They were trying to save his teeth,” Miller said at the time.

 

Surveillance video obtained during the investigation shows Jahmel, 16, in the vicinity of East Fordham Road and Morris Avenue on June 1, 2020, at approximately 9 p.m. According to the Bronx DA’s description of how the incident unfolded, the teen is seen among a crowd of people heel-kicking a T-Mobile storefront. Jahmel then moves to another spot, where he apparently attempts to light some street debris on fire.

 

At this point, NYPD Police Officer Kevin Hickey observes Jahmel and tasers him, causing him to fall [forward] to the ground and injure the right side of his face. Two other police officers subsequently approach Jahmel and each one strikes him once with a baton in the lower part of his body. According to the report, police say Jahmel was then taken into custody and his case was processed in Family Court.

 

The investigation found no criminality on the part of the responding police officers, and it did not find that the force used to arrest and restrain the teen was excessive or otherwise unjustified.

 

Miller told the Norwood News at the time that Jahmel’s mother said she had not known where Jahmel was on the night in question, and that she had never been informed that the NYPD had a minor child in their custody. “She was outraged, and when she went to the hospital, I was on the phone with her,” Miller told us last year. “I could hear the officers telling her, at first, [that] she couldn’t see her son,” he said. “I could hear the officer telling her, ‘Put your phone away,’” he added.

 

Miller said that when he spoke, at the time, to the arresting officer about the incident, the officer told him that because Jahmel was so tall, he thought the teen was an adult.

 

Meanwhile, a year later, Clark provided her reaction to the report’s findings. “Many took to the streets peacefully to decry the killing of George Floyd, but violence and looting broke out in the Fordham area on June 1, 2020,” she said. “In the midst of the chaos, NYPD Officers observed Mr. Leach allegedly trying to ignite a fire, which could have hurt the officers, people in the area and Mr. Leach himself. After a full investigation, we have concluded that there was no criminality on the part of three police officers.”

 

Clark added, “I support the right to peacefully protest, but I will not tolerate violence in our community. Neither will I tolerate police misconduct or brutality, and my office will review and take seriously any such allegations from the public.” In the video, officers can be heard using a profanity and addressing Jahmel aggressively, despite the fact that he appears to immediately comply with their instructions and answers them in a respectful manner.

 

The DA’s office confirmed that Jahmel’s family and lawyer met with the Public Integrity Bureau on the day the report was released and were informed of the findings. Last year, Miller said the family had challenged the fact that Jahmel had been interrogated by police, before he had any family present.

 

Norwood News reached out to Miller for further comment, following the release of the report. We did not receive an immediate response. When we reported on the incident last year, we reached out to the NYPD and were informed at that time that no comment would be forthcoming while the internal investigation was proceeding. We followed up, once again, following the release of the findings of the investigation. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

In New York, since Floyd’s death, and in response to a number of other tragic cases involving police, police reform legislation has been passed at both City and State level, including the banning of chokeholds, and the public availability of police misconduct records. At federal level, NY1 reports that Congress has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, but the legislation is currently stalled in the Senate where a bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to hash out a compromise.

 

On Friday, May 21, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced legislation to change New York State’s laws governing police violence to strengthen prosecutors’ ability to hold police officers accountable for unjustified and excessive use of force. The Police Accountability Act, the most far-reaching use of force reform in the nation, seeks to amend New York’s law that justifies police use of force, which currently sets an exceedingly high standard for prosecuting police officers who have improperly used deadly or excessive force.

 

The centerpiece of the legislation seeks to amend the use of force law from one of simple necessity to one of absolute last resort, mandating that police officers only use force after all other alternatives have been exhausted. The legislation will also establish new criminal penalties for police officers who employ force that is grossly in excess of what is warranted in an interaction with civilians.

 

James said that for far too long, police officers in the country have been able to evade accountability for the unjustified use of excessive and lethal force. “In New York, our laws have essentially given police blanket defense to use force in interactions with the public, making it exceedingly difficult for prosecutors to go after officers who have abused this power. Not only is that gravely unjust, but it has also proven to be incredibly dangerous,” she said.

 

“The Police Accountability Act will make critical and necessary changes to the law, providing clear and legitimate standards for when the use of force is acceptable and enacting real consequences for when an officer crosses that line. While this is an important step in addressing the shortfalls of our criminal justice system, it is not a cure all for the ills that have impacted too many families and claimed too many lives. We must continue to do everything in our power to protect our communities and ensure that no one is beyond the reach of justice.”

 

Overview of the Police Accountability Act

The Police Accountability Act includes a series of reforms aimed at improving protocols and strengthening accountability measures when police officers use force, especially lethal force. These legislative reforms are intended to reduce deaths at the hands of police by ensuring that police officers adhere to practices and tactics that aim to preserve life and only use lethal force as a last resort, while providing prosecutors with appropriate tools to potentially hold officers accountable when an individual dies after an interaction with police.

 

1) Use of Force Must Be A Last Resort

Current law: New York’s current law does not require officers to exhaust other options, such as de-escalation, verbal warnings, or lower level uses of force, before using force, including lethal force.

Police Accountability Act reform: The Police Accountability Act seeks to amend this law by establishing a “last resort” standard, whereby use of force must be a last resort that officers can only employ when there are no reasonable alternatives to avoiding force or reducing the force used. Officers must instead exhaust alternatives, including de-escalation, lower levels of force, verbal warnings, and other methods.

 

2) Simple Suspicion of Criminal Conduct Cannot Justify Lethal Force

Current law: New York’s current use of force law authorizes police to use lethal force based simply on an officer’s reasonable belief that an individual committed a particular crime — a certain category of felony or attempt to commit a felony — and irrespective of whether the individual presents a danger to the officer or another person at the time.

Police Accountability Act reform: The Police Accountability Act seeks to eliminate justification for lethal force when an officer simply suspects an individual has engaged in particular criminal conduct. Lethal force should only be used in the most exigent of circumstances and demands higher standards of proof before an officer may use lethal force.

 

3) Allow Prosecutors to Evaluate if Police Conduct Led to Need for Use of Force

Current law: New York’s current law justifying police use of force does not provide a mechanism for prosecutors to consider an officer’s own responsibility for creating the need for force in the first place.

Police Accountability Act reform: The Police Accountability Act seeks to explicitly allow prosecutors to consider whether an officer’s conduct created a substantial and unjustifiable risk that force would become necessary. Where that is the case, an officer may not avail themselves of the justification defense.

 

4) Establish Standards and Criminal Penalties to Prevent Excessive Use of Police Force

The Police Accountability Act — sponsored by State Senator Kevin Parker in the Senate and to be sponsored by Assemblymember N. Nick Perry in the Assembly — seeks to establish criminal penalties for police officers who employ force that is grossly in excess of what is warranted under the circumstances and where that force causes physical injury or death. The level of charge would depend on the severity of the injuries caused.

 

Over the last year, we have been listening to all corners of our community, and there have been many lessons learned.
@NYPDFIRSTDEP Ben Tucker talks with @kemrichardson7 about ongoing changes throughout the NYPD. pic.twitter.com/Rk7VQ0iHIc

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 26, 2021

 

Bronx Democratic Party chair, State Sen. Jamaal Bailey said the use of excessive force by police officers had not only taken loved ones and family members, but was also a continuous scourge for communities. “The Police Accountability Act will make it clearly understood that the state of New York will not tolerate individuals in law enforcement who deviate from the mission of protecting and serving and instead attempt to incorrectly take justice into their own hands,” Bailey said.

 

“To minimize the occurrences of unjustified uses of force, accountability and consequences are necessary. Establishing explicit standards and expectations for officers, coupled with criminal penalties, will create a system where justice is equitable and responsibility can be had,” he added.

 

Bailey said techniques such as de-escalation were proven to work and should be emphasized as being necessary and commonly used tools, since in many occurrences, they could be substituted for the use of force. “The Police Accountability Act is a landmark set of reforms that will work to answer the shortcomings in our current criminal justice system and work to protect many communities. I would like to thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for her dedication and continuous work of ensuring that justice is fair and even-handed for all New Yorkers.”

 

This morning, @NYPDShea spoke with @patkiernan on @NY1 about the anniversary of George Floyd's death. They also spoke about hate crimes and illegal ATV's.

Watch the full interview 🔽 pic.twitter.com/jt7XFVNYFh

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 25, 2021

 

Nowood News has reached out to the NYPD for comment on The Police Accountability Act and received the following statement from spokesperson, Sergeant Jessica McRorie.

“The NYPD’s use of force guidelines are a model of national standards. The NYPD’s use of force has been lower than most major cities and has steadily declined. Our focus on firearms discipline has resulted in steadily declining use of firearms, even by officers who are fired upon.”

 

The statement continued, “A 2019 study showed that the NYPD used force on in only 2.4 percent of all arrests. We believe our policies and training, which are always evolving, set a high standard and are validated by the steady declines in use of force and complaints against officers. We will study the legislation but urge mindfulness on the part of law makers regarding the safety of police officers who go in harm’s way for the public we serve every day.”

 

The NYPD had tweeted a message on May 26 in reference to the recent anniversary of Floyd’s death, in which officials talked about the lessons learned by police over the last year. A day earlier, while speaking on NY1, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea gave his reaction to the anniversary of Floyd’s death.

 

Meanwhile, Clark thanked the Public Integrity Bureau for conducting a thorough investigation into the events of June 1, 2020 on Fordham Road. A video of the incident is attached, and the full report can be read by clicking on the following link: BXDA-Report-NYPD-Jahmel Leach.