Even de Blasio thinks proposed surveillance bill is too liberal – New York Post

A City Council bill that would force the NYPD to reveal its anti-terror tools and tactics is too liberal even for the citys left-leaning mayor who charged Sunday the act would create a roadmap for the bad guys.

If we start to lay out everything we do to gather information to fight crime and fight terrorism, if we lay that out too publicly and in too much detail, unfortunately, it provides a roadmap for the bad guys. And I am not ever going to be comfortable with that, Mayor de Blasio told John Catsimatidis on his 970-AM radio show.

There are a lot of people gunning to hurt New York City, and we are not going to help them do it by giving them the kind of information that would only make our enemies stronger.

The councils Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act would require the NYPD to issue reports on what kinds of spy gadgets it uses like cell-phone trackers and X-ray vans used to peer through walls as well as how cops store and protect the private information theyve collected.

Sixteen Council members are currently sponsoring the bill, but it would need the backing of 34 to override a mayoral veto.

The NYPDs counterterror chief John Miller also trashed the bill on Catsimatidis show, where he said the plan would be a disaster that puts cops lives in danger.

It would allow criminals to learn way too much, way too easily, Miller said.

Its one-stop shopping one website where we would post everything we use and what the limitations on it were and what it was for.

Council members Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan) and Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx) introduced the bill, but Miller claimed it was probably written by activists under the nutty belief that the NYPD is surveying innocent people.

Nobody is going to call the ACLU down to the City Council or Congress because we have a terrorist attack, Miller said.

That is going to be me at that table with the police commissioner and the chief of detectives answering those questions.

De Blasio agreed that cops are already sticking to the law when gathering intelligence.

The NYPD uses tools to gain information, there are clear stipulations to make sure everything is done constitutionally and legally. Theres clear internal oversight, the mayor said.

Police Commissioner James ONeill also railed against the bill Friday, tweeting that the NYPD is vehemently opposed.

It provides terrorists, criminals, & others with a roadmap on how to harm #USA, he wrote.

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Even de Blasio thinks proposed surveillance bill is too liberal - New York Post

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