Organizers also called on police to 'acknowledge their harm and correct course moving forward,' - a reference to the police brutality that was brought to light by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.
Instead, private security would be arranged to provide first response support in case of crowd trouble and police would be asked to attend 'only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials.'' Organizers added that they would seek to have police officers remain a block away from the celebrations on June 27. 'The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,'' the group said. Organizers said they were taking action over concerns that a strong police presence may be 'threatening' to some attendees. 'Effective immediately, NYC Pride will ban corrections and law enforcement exhibitors at NYC Pride events until 2025,' a statement published on the event's website said. Officers from the New York Police Department will be banned from marching in the US city's annual LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Pride parade next month.
