Salaam’s stop casts a renewed light on a police transparency bill that would require officers to publicly report on all investigative stops.
New York City Council Member
City Council Member Sandy Nurse said she was on a video call with Salaam and other people when he was pulled over. Nurse said she heard Salaam ask the officer for the reason for the stop, for which none was given.
Salaam and four other Black or Latino men were falsely accused and convicted of raping and beating a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. Salaam was arrested at age 15 and imprisoned for almost seven years. Their convictions were eventually overturned through DNA evidence.
Salaam won a seat on the New York City Council in November and represents a central Harlem district.
“At a time when Black and Latino New Yorkers continue to be disproportionately subjected to unconstitutional stops that go underreported, and civilian complaints of misconduct are at their highest level in over a decade, the need for basic transparency is clear,” New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement Friday about the legislation, before the traffic stop.
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