Search Me .....Just get it in writing.....Or else

New York Post November 14,  2014

Advocates of a bill that would force cops to get written permission before searching suspects conceded Thursday they still haven’t discussed the proposal with the NYPD.

Opponents blasted the failure to consult police as a callous lack of transparency.

“It shows New Yorkers what little regard some people have for the NYPD,” said City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens).

The bill, which is virtually identical to a 2012 proposal, was introduced Thursday to much fanfare.

Council members Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) and Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn) held a well-attended press conference on the steps of City Hall to tout their bill as a way to foster transparency between cops and residents.

“We all have an interest in improving the relationship between police and community,” Torres said.

The 2012 bill was sent to the Police Department before getting a public hearing, but Reynoso admitted this version was not.

“It wasn’t something they were open to, so we didn’t engage in new conversations with them just yet,” he said. "We also did not submit the bill that requires the police to get written permission before they arrest someone even if they hit them with a hachet."

Neither Mayor de Blasio nor Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has given a position on the bill. But one of the key supporters, Kirsten John Foy, said he’s confident de Blasio will come around and isn’t worried about a possible mayoral veto.

“It doesn’t concern me because ultimately we all have the same vision,” say Foy, who used to work for de Blasio when he was public advocate and is now with Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.