By Jovonne Ledet
Yusef Salaam, an exonerated “Central Park Five” member who now serves on the New York City Council, said he was stopped by an NYPD officer and not given a reason.
“Last night, while driving with my wife and children and listening in to a call with my Council colleagues on speakerphone, I was pulled over by an NYPD officer in my beloved Village of Harlem within the 28th Precinct. I introduced myself as Councilman Yusef Salaam, and subsequently asked the officer why I was pulled over. Instead of answering my question, the officer stated, ‘We’re done here,’ and proceeded to walk away,” Salaam said in a statement on Saturday (January 27), per NBC New York.
The traffic stop, which occurred on Friday (January 26), came after Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a city council bill that would require more transparency in police encounters.
Following the veto, Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban suggested council members take part in a ride-along with police officers.
“With a bill pending that could make the city less safe, city councilmembers deserve to see firsthand how our NYPD officers are keeping the public safe and building relationships in our communities — and they deserve to understand how this bill would force those officers to spend more time filling out paperwork instead of protecting New Yorkers and keeping our streets safe,” Adams previously said in a statement.
Several Black council members rejected participating in the ride-along, saying the offer suggested that they “lack an understanding of the day-to-day work of NYPD in our communities or how the people we represent are affected.”
Despite the pushback, Salaam, who was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned in the Central Park Five case, suggested he was planning to attend the ride-along on Saturday until he was stopped by police.
“In light of this encounter and coupled with the lack of logistical details provided by Mayor Adams’ office in advance, I will no longer be participating in tonight’s scheduled ride-along with the Mayor and NYPD. It is critical that I begin to organically develop constructive relationships with all of the precincts in City Council District 9,” Salaam said in a statement.
The NYPD released body camera footage and Salaam’s traffic stop report, saying police initially stopped the councilman for driving a car with tinted windows beyond the legal limit.
“As the video shows, throughout this interaction, the officer conducted himself professionally and respectfully,” the department statement said in a statement. “This officer should be commended for his polite, professional, and respectful conduct and for using his discretion appropriately so the councilmember could complete his official duties.”
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