Suspects with symptoms to be arraigned by TV link
Suspects arrested in New York City with coronavirus symptoms will no longer be arraigned in person in criminal court.
People arrested in Manhattan and the Bronx who appear to be sick will be brought to the Midtown Community Court, while suspects busted in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island will be taken to the Red Hook Community Court, court officials said.
“Anyone who is arrested and has flulike symptoms will not be taken to a precinct or Central Booking,” Mayor de Blasio said. “There will be a video conference system for the workings of the criminal justice system.”
Suspects will be arraigned over a video link to the criminal court in the borough where the crime took place. In normal times, detainees are physically present in the courtroom when they are arraigned.
The move is aimed at reducing the contact possibly sick people have with others.
Meanwhile, a range of 50 civil rights groups, including the Legal Aid Society and the New York Civil Liberties Union, sent a letter to de Blasio calling on him to order the NYPD to stop making lowlevel arrests during the coronavirus crisis.
They also asked the mayor to order the police to discontinue its homeless outreach program and to cut the NYPD budget so more money can flow to nonprofits providing services to the mentally ill, children, the elderly and other vulnerable populations.
The police should not issue any summonses or desk appearance tickets or make arrests for offenses like misdemeanor drug busts and fare evasion, the letter argues.
“Public safety can be ensured in ways that support everyone’s personal safety and dignity while decreasing unnecessary police interactions in the context of this pandemic,” the letter says.
The NYPD declined to comment on the letter.
Predictably, the city’s largest police union pushed back at the idea.
“This is insanity. You can bet that dangerous criminals will try to take advantage of this crisis to prey on our neighbors,” the Police Benevolent Association said. “New Yorkers want cops to do our job, now more than ever.”
Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also chimed in.
“The only way this foolish idea would work is if the criminals agree to a moratorium on committing crime,” he said. “I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that. The result of this proposal would be the replacement of a pandemic with anarchy.”
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also called on the NYPD Tuesday to step back its enforcement. The speaker said arrests should cease for crimes like trespassing, lowlevel drug possession and failure to appear in court.
“People who get arrested end up spending hours and hours in a small room with strangers waiting to see a judge,” Johnson said in a statement. “The potential for the virus to spread in these close quarters is enormous.”
De Blasio argued for a stepped-up role for police during the coronavirus crisis during an appearance on NY1 Monday night.
“We are going to need the police to be very vigilant and present,” the mayor said. “I am very concerned about protecting people … with hundreds of thousands of teenagers not going to be in school.”