NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker and Chief of Department Terence Monahan say the police department takes reform seriously. They declare the NYPD has made numerous changes since the death of Eric Garner in 2014. Garner, an African American man, died after being put in a chokehold by a white officer.

Tucker and Monahan admit more needs to be done when it comes to improving the relationships between communities of color and the officers, especially after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd was African American and died May 25 after a white officer placed a knee on his neck for several minutes.
 

(NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan, right, praises strides in community policing, but admits more needs to be done to improve the relationships between communities of color and officers.)


Benjamin Tucker, who is African American, has the second-highest position in the NYPD. He said he believes the department doesn’t have a problem with systemic racism, but added, “I would be foolish to sit here and tell you that there are probably no racists in this department. And, by the way, that is, I think — we remind people that we are a microcosm of the rest of society.”
 


Monahan, the highest-ranking uniformed officer, has been on the force 39 years. He said the NYPD can’t turn a blind eye to the problems of race in the city.

“So important that we have this conversation, of course. You can’t ignore it,” Monahan said. “Someone wants to talk about race, you can go, ‘Oh no, no, no, let’s talk about something else.’ You have to have tough conversations. Put yourself in the middle of it and speak. And every cop — it can’t be just the leadership — it has to be my cop on the street.”