The Commissioner of the New York Police has issued a historic apology this week, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and Pride Month in the USA.
The 1969 raids, a landmark moment in the beginnings of the modern Pride movement, saw police enter the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of the morning on June 28th in an attack on the LGBTIQ+ community.
The event was first remembered a year later as Christopher Street Liberation Day, which blossomed into Pride parades around the world over the coming years.
“Over the past few years, the NYPD has been forging new relationships and repairing existing relationships. At times there are obstacles that get in the way. Sometimes those obstacles are easy to overcome. Sometimes they’re not,” Commissioner James O’Neil said.
“I think it would be irresponsible of me as we go through WorldPride month not t o speak of the events at the Stonewall Inn in June of 1969. I’m certainly not going to stand up here and pretend to be an expert on what happened at Stonewall.”
“I do know what happened should not have happened. The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong, plain and simple. The actions and the laws were discriminatory and oppressive and for that I apologise.”
LGBTIQ+ advocates have welcomed the police apology ahead of New York’s Pride parade on June 30th.
“He represents the institution, and the institution and their violence against our community is one of the reasons why Pride exists,” James Fallarino of NYC Pride said.
“It’s really important that the institution take responsibility for what happened.”
OIP Staff
