Police secrecy law keeps public in the dark about police misconduct
The mother of Eric Garner stood outside of the New York Police Department's headquarters in the rain on Monday to remind supporters that the fight for justice in her son's death isn't over.
"Eric is crying from heaven 'cause he sees his mother and his family out here still trying to fight for justice for him," Gwen Carr told several people standing in the rain with signs that read #FireNYPD Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who shot her son.
"It's been five years — five years we've been on the front lines trying to get justice, and they're still trying to sweep it under the rug," she said.
The family has been largely kept in the dark by the NYPD due to a police secrecy law that has clouded transparency in the case.
They were initially denied access to Pantaleo's disciplinary records and were unable to see evidence from the grand jury investigation into the case, due to a state civil rights law — Section 50-a — that bars access to police officers' personnel records.
Section 50-a is considered a harmful roadblock in the quest for building trust and maintaining safety between police and their communities, according to several organizations that are fighting for its repeal.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/police-secrecy-law-keeps-public-in-the-dark-about-police-misconduct/ar-AABzU7F?li=BBnbcA1