Multiple black leaders in New York have called on the New York Police Department to bring back the Anti-Crime Unit that was eliminated last month.
Shootings and murders recently spiked across the city, with the city's murder rate more than doubling since this time last year, according to NYPD data. Shooting victims have increased by 45%.
Roughly 600 undercover officers were set to be transferred to other assignments, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said last month.
Eric Adams, president of the Brooklyn Borough, criticized the decision to remove the unit.
"I think think that a total elimination is something we need to reevaluate," Adams told CBS New York. "Right now, bad guys are saying if you don't see a blue and white, you can do whatever you want."
Tony Herbert, who CBS New York describes as a "community activist," also criticized the decision to disband the Anti-Crime Unit.
"The guns keep going off and now we have a 1-year-old [dead] and the blood is on the hands of the mayor and the state Legislature," Herbert said.
