In response to the New York City Council’s vote today to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s vetoes of the two bills known collectively as the Community Safety Act, the leadership of the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement, attributable to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman:

"With this historic vote, the City Council has turned the page on Mayor Bloomberg’s long embrace of abusive and discriminatory policing practices. The Community Safety Act, combined with last week’s appointment of a federal monitor to oversee court-mandated reforms to the stop-and-frisk program, sets the stage for a smarter and more just approach to policing in New York City.

"An NYPD Inspector General will ensure better community relations between New Yorkers and the officers that are supposed to protect and serve them. And New Yorkers deserve an NYPD that relies on a person’s actions to make law enforcement decisions, not skin color, sexual orientation or immigration status. With this override vote, we will finally see a strong ban on profiling in our city.

"We hope the next mayoral administration makes implementing these reforms a top priority and embraces policing practices that respect the dignity of all New Yorkers and build trust between police and the people they are sworn to serve.

"We applaud Council Members Jumaane Williams, Brad Landers, Melissa Mark-Viverito and all members of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus for displaying the leadership needed to secure these reforms over the Mayor Bloomberg’s veto and heavy-handed campaign of scare tactics and arm-twisting."