The New York Times reports most serious misconduct charges against New York City police officers were met with lenient punishments as the department constantly ignored or downplayed the need for stricter response. Of nearly 7,000 misconduct charges against officers, the department overruled harsher punishments in about 70% of cases, including officers accused of physically assaulting people. Meanwhile, New York City simultaneously paid millions of dollars to settle lawsuits that stemmed from those same abuse complaints. This comes as New York City added another 900 cops to the police force last month. Over the weekend, dozens of people in New York City took to the streets protesting ongoing police killings and abuse. This is Robert Cuffy, an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Robert Cuffy: “At the end of the day, the police cannot fulfill the main demand of our movement, which is to stop killing Black people. … Since this movement has launched, like, they killed David McAtee in Kentucky. They killed Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. So, there are going to be more and more flashpoints, but there’s a sustained movement because of the daily presence of these people in our lives.”

Last week, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a pilot program that would remove police officers from responding to mental health calls.