Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a Law Day ceremony at the Court of Appeals in Albany on May 1st, 2019. Chief Justice Janet DiFiore is on the left and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks is on the right. Photo: David Handschuh/NYLJ

State Attorney General Letitia James rolled out a set of proposed New York City police reforms Wednesday, calling for a redesign of law enforcement's role in the city.

Yet on a conference call, the Democratic attorney general stopped short of condemning the NYPD's response to large-scale protests against police brutality and the killing of Black Americans by police. 

Similar protests swept across the nation earlier this year following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, sparking a national reckoning on the intersection of law enforcement and race. 

In New York City, those protests were punctuated by social media videos showing violent confrontations from police against protesters. Following the protests, James hosted public hearings in which many demonstrators reported being violently attacked by police while attending peaceful protests and listed injuries they received.

One protester recalled hearing bones crack. Another reported being choked by an officer. A third reported being tackled to the ground by police.

In written testimony, protesters said police hit people with batons. Some also reported seeing people with broken bones.

Released Wednesday, a preliminary report on the NYPD's response to the protests made various recommendations for police reforms. 

When asked if the preliminary report concluded if the NYPD did anything wrong when it policed the protests, James said she didn't know if they were tasked with the ability to judge the police. Instead, she said they were tasked with the responsibility of looking at interactions between police and protesters. 

"This is nothing more than a preliminary report," she said, mentioning the investigation is ongoing and her office is still examining protesters who have come forward with extra evidence.

New York City Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea has defended his agency's response and said there was some of the city's worst rioting in recent memory.

While testifying before James last month, Shea reported upward of 100 officers with the NYPD had yet to return to duty because they were injured so badly. 

In New York City, there were more than 2,000 protest-related arrests over more than a week between late May and early June, according to the preliminary report. Of those arrests, a higher percentage of Black and Latino protesters were charged with a felony compared to white and Asian protesters, the report said.

The preliminary report recommended that the NYPD, the nation's largest local police department, be overseen through a commission that would have the ability to fire or hire department leadership. It also recommended strengthening and expanding the Civilian Complaint Review Board's authority.

James, on a call with reporters, said everything on the table and they will consider recommendations on criminal prosecution.

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