Police Commissioner Sewell defends decision not to attend NYC Council hearing on Strategic Response Group

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell Friday defended the NYPD brass’s absence from a City Council hearing about the department’s controversial crowd control unit accused of excessive force and other misconduct during the George Floyd protests.

Sewell said the NYPD couldn’t testify Wednesday because “we are involved in mediation in that case and we signed a confidential agreement so we would not be able to speak about the facts of that case.”

Sewell was referring to a June 4, 2020 protest in Mott Haven, the Bronx in which officers in the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group were accused of “kettling” protesters — not allowing them to leave, then arresting them — and beating some of them with their batons.

On Tuesday, a day before the hearing, the city agreed to pay $21,500 to each of more than 300 protesters from that incident, a settlement that will cost taxpayers up to $6 million. Other suits involving the Strategic Response Group are pending.

Asked if the NYPD could have attended the hearing and answered general questions about SRG, Sewell doubled down.

“We are not permitted to talk about any of the aspect of the case during negotiations,” she said. “But we do look for to being able to do that in the future, when it’s appropriate.”

The day of the hearing, the NYPD submitted written testimony by its director of Legislative Affairs, Michael Clarke, who cited the same “confidentiality agreement.”

City Council members exploded in anger, threatened to cut NYPD funding and vowed to use subpoena powers to force police officials to show up if they fail to appear again.

Later that day, police in a separate statement said “the court has issued a gag order directing confidentiality in the matter.”

But the New York Civil Liberties Union believes no such order exists. On Thursday, it asked the city’s Law Department to see the gag order — or correct itself if there is no such order. It has not received a response.

“The NYPD is using settlement negotiations as a smokescreen for answering questions from their oversight body about widespread abuse,” said Molly Biklen, the NYCLU’s deputy legal director. “New Yorkers are still waiting for the SRG to answer for their conduct.”