How Many Stops Act: Brooklyn lawmaker and NYPD in dispute over ride-along opportunity

Tensions over the How Many Stops Act continue to boil heading into Tuesday’s City Council override vote, as Brooklyn Council Member Crystal Hudson and the NYPD sparred over an apparent ride-along opportunity that never happened.

Hudson (D), a co-sponsor of the How Many Stops Act police reporting bill, said that she had been scheduled to take part in a ride-along with police officers on Monday, just 24 hours before the City Council was set to vote on the mayor’s veto of the bill. However, Hudson claims her efforts to shadow cops to better understand what officers deal with on a daily basis was abruptly canceled by the department.

“To be clear, my scheduled Ride Along was cancelled by @NYPDnews. I look forward to participating whenever they’re ready,” Hudson wrote on X.

The NYPD swiftly rebuked the claim in a statement — adding that Hudson never set up a ride-along with them, and claiming there was “never anything to cancel” from the start.

“Councilmember Hudson never scheduled a ride-along; therefore, there was never anything to cancel. When contacted by her office last week, the NYPD offered Saturday, Jan. 27 — at a time and location when several of her City Council colleagues were scheduled to take part in a group ride-along. Councilmember Hudson’s office declined that invitation and requested an independent ride-along. She was duly advised to contact our NYPD Community Affairs Bureau to solidify the time, date, and location, but she has yet to reach out,” the NYPD wrote in a statement.

This comes after Mayor Eric Adams set up a Harlem and Bronx ride-along with cops and a slew of City Council members last weekend, in the hope of changing their stance ahead of the Jan. 30 vote. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the ride-alongs swayed any of the participants into changing their positions.

Mayor Eric Adams organized an NYPD ride along for a handful of city council members and various media outlets on Saturday night as the How Many Stops Act override vote looms.File photo/Dean Moses

Meanwhile, Hudson wasn’t the only politician seemingly taking aim at the NYPD amid the How Many Stops Act debate.

Councilmember Yusef Salaam (D-Harlem) also railed against the NYPD, stating that he was stopped by police on Jan. 26 without explanation; after that incident, he pulled out of his scheduled participation in the ride-along.

Police later released bodycam footage of the incident, stating that his vehicle was pulled over due to the car’s tinted windows — though the officer neither explained that to Salaam, nor issued a ticket or warning.

The future of the How Many Stops Act is scheduled to be voted on Tuesday afternoon.

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