De Blasio Defends Plans For Police Anti-Bias Training Following Criticism From SBA President
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his plan to give police officers anti-bias training.
It came after Sergeants Benevolent Association, President Ed Mullins denounced the proposal.
"The perception of the police are biased is totally incorrect, and we're further reinforcing that belief when we make comments about anti-bias training," Mullins said.
De Blasio said the training will help protect police and help de-escalate conflicts.
"Every one of us has biases. Every single one. We're humans. And the difference is that our public servants, and I count myself among them, have to work hard to make sure that no bias seeps into the work we do. And obviously for those who protect our safety it's particularly important," the mayor said.
The mayor touched on the "Implicit Bias" training program in his State Of The City address. He said officers would be trained to "help overcome the biases that reside in all of us."
"This spring, we will introduce 'implicit bias' training for our officers—helping them identify, understand and change unconscious behaviors that may affect their policing," de Blasio said. "All of the training and technology we are delivering to our police department will help every one of our 35,000 uniformed officers become the kind of cop they signed up to be."
The training is scheduled to begin in the spring.
