The New York City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved two police and jail reform measures — overriding vetoes by NYC Mayor Eric Adams. One bill would force New York police officers to report the race, gender and age of people they interact with or stop for questioning. The other legislation would limit the amount of time people in custody are placed in solitary confinement in the city’s troubled jail system. Councilmembers supporting the override included the newly elected Harlem Councilmember Yusef Salaam, who was one of five Black and Latino teenagers wrongfully convicted of the 1989 beating and rape of a white woman in Central Park. Salaam spent seven years in prison, including in solitary confinement, before being exonerated. On Tuesday, he delivered emotional remarks before voting aye.

Councilmember Yusef Salaam: “I vote aye because today the New York City Council is fighting for the implementation of two bills that would bring generational change in our criminal justice system. … If these laws were in place in 1989 … I vote aye.”

Yusef Salaam’s vote came just days after he was pulled over by police while driving with his family. He said the officer never responded to his request to know why he was being stopped.