"City officials say the Columbus junket, organized by City Hall, was meant to inform the ongoing conversation between the NYPD and Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration around a unit accused of brutal tactics in the past - specifically the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020."
"We want to strategize on how to facilitate peaceful protests rather than how to control it, said Anthony Raganella, a retired NYPD deputy inspector who was instrumental in creating the SRG."
"But he cautioned that when people are put in harm's way, 'We have to take action and we have to control at that point what's going on to stop criminal activity.'"
A delegation from the NYPD visited Columbus to learn about a protest policing model that prioritizes conversation and de-escalation over aggressive tactics. Columbus officials believe this approach can inform ongoing discussions about reforming the NYPD's Strategic Response Group, which has faced criticism for its handling of protests. While some methods from Columbus have already been adopted by the NYPD, experts stress the need for a balance between dialogue and readiness to respond to violence if necessary.
Read at Gothamist
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