NEW YORK – In a scathing statement released today, Damon K. Jones, the New York Representative of Blacks In Law Enforcement of America (BLEA), criticized New York Attorney General Letitia James for focusing on high-profile cases against former President Donald Trump while allegedly neglecting critical police reform initiatives across the state.
“The Black community is not interested in another high-profile press conference about Donald Trump,” said Jones. “We urgently need—and have long been waiting for—an Attorney General committed to policing reform, an issue where James has been conspicuously silent since taking office.”
Jones highlighted several recent incidents of police violence against Black New Yorkers, including the death of Jarrell Garris, an unarmed Black man who was fatally shot during a mental health crisis by New Rochelle police. The BLEA New York Representative expressed particular frustration with what he described as the Attorney General’s inadequate response to such incidents.
“If the Attorney General put the same energy and zeal into police reform and investigating police crimes against Black people as she does in pursuing Donald Trump, we would see real progress,” Jones stated. “Her dedication to justice must extend equally to addressing police misconduct, especially when it impacts Black communities.”
The BLEA New York office highlighted the absence of uniform statewide standards for police use of force, particularly in situations involving mental health crises. Jones argued that the current approach, which leaves individual departments to implement reforms independently, has created dangerous inconsistencies in how Black and minority communities are policed across New York State.
Jones cited the tragic case of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., who was unarmed and killed by White Plains police after being tasered and shot with bean bags, called the N-word as evidence of persistent flaws in police training and accountability. “Is this what the AG’s office endorses as acceptable police conduct while our police academy still think this is ok?” Jones questioned. “By failing to make comprehensive change, AG James’s office is allowing such flawed standards to persist in training, leaving Black New Yorkers unprotected against the very forces meant to ensure their safety.”
Under Jones’s leadership, BLEA’s New York chapter has proposed several reforms, including mandatory de-escalation training, standardized use-of-force guidelines, enhanced mental health crisis response protocols, and stronger accountability measures for all police agencies statewide.
“The Attorney General’s office has the power to set standards for transparency and accountability in policing, yet we continue to hear of troubling narratives in police training that reinforce harmful behaviors,” Jones emphasized. “We need her to be as committed and consistent in holding law enforcement accountable as she is in her high-profile political cases.”
Jones called for immediate action to address what he terms a “crisis in policing” in New York State. “Black communities are tired of waiting for promises of reform that are never kept,” he stated. “We must release ourselves from Trump Derangement Syndrome. The Attorney General must show that she is here to serve all New Yorkers by addressing the critical issues in our policing systems.”
The Attorney General’s office has not yet responded to BLEA’s criticism. This development comes amid ongoing debates about law enforcement reform and the role of state oversight in policing practices.
