BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Supporters of the "Right to Know" bill the buffalo common council passed on Tuesday say it is meant to hold police accountable.
“The one thing I want to make clear is we do have some bad apples in every police force, but not every police officer is a bad apple,” Common Council President Darius Pridgen said.
The bill requires buffalo officers to offer a card with their name and internal affairs contact information to every person they pull over if there is no arrest or violation.
“It’s not a lot to ask for someone who possibly has a high school degree and is earning $100,000 a year of taxpayer money,” attorney John Elmore said.
The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association said they are against this bill. They claim they already have oversight and that nobody will ‘get away’ with anything. They call this another anti-police bill.
“It is not anti-policing, it is definitely pro-people, pro police,” Pridgen said.
Elmore said this bill is important, but enforcement could be difficult.
“Unfortunately, this is a situation where the police will be policing the police,” Elmore said.
Buffalo's “Right to Know” bill is modeled after others in New York City and Syracuse.
“When we finally get over that hurdle of feeling like when there’s accountability it’s a negative, I believe we will get to a place of better policing,” Pridgen said.
Pridgen and Elmore said this new policy will be implemented as soon as they get the cards printed and they’re excited to see how it impacts the city.
