The Syracuse Common Council is pushing forward with the Right to Know legislation, expecting to vote on it in about two weeks.

The legislation would require Syracuse Police officers to identify themselves at stops, have a consent to search, and conduct quarterly meetings on their reports.

Councilman Joe Driscoll says it’s gratifying to reach this point after working on this legislation for more than a year.

This comes after a video surfaced on social media, appearing to show an officer push a man’s face.

The officer was placed on paid administrative leave and the department is conducting an investigation.

Driscoll, along with the local New York Civil Liberties Union Director, says the Right to Know legislation can help prevent situations like that from happening.

“Codifying it and making it procedure I think is helpful for everybody and a reminder to both the community and officers on how these interactions should go and how we should be talking to each other and making sure that everyone is aware of what’s happening,” said Driscoll.

“What the legislation does is it really tries to build and rebuild trust between law enforcement and communities that they serve. It’s really important that when a person is stopped, they know why they’re being stopped,” said NYCLU CNY Chapter Director Yusuf Abdul-Qadir. 

The Common Council will vote on the legislation on September 28.