PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Germain Thompson, Community Liaison from Office of the Community Liaison
3:09:41
·
3 min
Germain Thompson, the Community Liaison appointed by the Southern District court, spoke about the critical role of the Office of the Community Liaison (OCL) in the reform process related to NYPD's stop, question, and frisk practices. He emphasized the importance of community input and the OCL's role in gathering and communicating community concerns to the federal monitor team.
- The OCL has connected with 238 organizations and 37 public officials, completing 262 info sessions citywide.
- Thompson highlighted issues such as inconsistent activation of body-worn cameras by officers during community interactions.
- The OCL's work involves building relationships with various community organizations and providing an anonymous platform for community members to share their experiences.
Germain Thompson
3:09:41
Good morning.
3:09:41
Good afternoon.
3:09:42
My name is Jermaine Thompson.
3:09:44
I'm here to speak about speak about the critical role of the community liaison in a reform process related to New York City's Police Department stop questioning first practices and trespass enforcement.
3:09:55
On December 16, 2022, I was appointed by the honorable Alyssa Annalisa Torres by the Southern District to be the community liaison.
3:10:04
This position is essential for ensuring that voices of those impacted by these practices are heard and integrated into the reform process.
3:10:14
The objective of the community liaison, also known as OCL, is to engage in community, particularly those who have been directly affected by NYD's NYPD's practices, offering them more opportunities to provide input and share their experiences.
3:10:29
By working with community organizations and stakeholders, OCL can develop greater opportunities for dialogue and feedback.
3:10:36
This information is then shared with the monitor to the federal monitor team and the courts informing them, the assessments of city compliance with the court's remedial order in the Floyd, Davis, and LeGon cases.
3:10:49
Community input is vital.
3:10:51
It ensures that the perspectives of the experiences of community members are considered in assessing the NYPD's practices.
3:10:58
This includes addressing concerns around stop questioning frisk practices, trespass enforcement, and racial bias.
3:11:05
OCL's role is to seek, receive, and organize these concerns, making sure that they are communicated effectively to the monitor.
3:11:13
The independence of my role from the monitor and the other parties ensures unbiased communication.
3:11:19
OCL is not an advocate for any party, but a conduit for the community voices, ensuring that the monitor team regularly hears from a diverse set of community voices.
3:11:28
This diver this the the diversity is crucial for understanding the full impact of NYPD's practices and determining compliance within the course orders.
3:11:38
OCL has been tasked to develop a community engagement plan, conduct surveys, public forums, and meet in to gather feedback.
3:11:46
OCL is about building relationships with community organizations, tenant associations, faith based institutions, youth organizations, and most importantly, those affected by stop question and first practices.
3:11:57
The input gathered will provide context for the monitor's assessment, help helping to identify issues or pathways that need further examination.
3:12:05
Feel free to cut me off this.
3:12:06
It's
Yousef Salaam
3:12:06
Hold on a lot.
3:12:07
The bell has
Germain Thompson
3:12:08
rung.
3:12:09
Yeah.
3:12:10
Since the beginning since the beginning of 2024, we have connected and reached out to 238 organizations and and 37 public officials.
3:12:18
With these connections at the end of Q3 of 2024, we have completed 262 info sessions citywide, which are workshops designed to inform people about the levels of encounters we've been hearing about all day, today, and a host of outreach meetings.
3:12:32
We have been involved in tenant association, public forums, and various, conferences nationwide.
3:12:37
We also urge community members, via we also engage with community members via, social media and our websites, office of the community liaison across the board, which also gives community members an anonymous platform to share information about their experiences.
3:12:53
Through our reporting to the monitor team in the courts
Yousef Salaam
3:12:55
If you could if you could wrap up.
Germain Thompson
3:12:56
Yeah.
3:12:57
I'll I'll wrap it up right now.
3:12:58
Through the through, our reporting from the monitor team in the courts, from the community shared with us, we have discussed a number of significant issues.
3:13:04
One being issues around body worn cameras and the inconsistent activation by officers during community interactions.
3:13:10
Community members have repeatedly expressed concerns about officers activating their body worn cameras unless prompted by the public.
3:13:17
And I yield back from there.
