NEW YORK CITY — In the latest incident of a growing controversy around anti-police discourse, the New York Department of Investigation released a report Thursday criticizing a Bronx public defense law firm for its participation in an anti-cop music video.
The DOI found that attorneys employed by the Bronx Defenders — which receives millions of dollars in funding from the city government — participated in the creation of "Hands Up," a music video by hip-hop artists Uncla Murda and Maino.
The video intersperses footage from real-life instances of police brutality against black people with fictional scenes in which the rappers point toy guns to the head of an actor wearing a New York Police Department uniform.
"For Mike Brown and Sean Bell, a cop got to get killed," the lyrics of the song go. "Cause I'm black, police think they got the right to shoot me. No jail for them, their punishment is desk duty."
Thursday's report also found that the law firm's executive director, Robin Steinberg, "failed to discipline the staff after learning of their conduct" and "made misleading statements to city officials about the organization's involvement" with the video.
In a pop-up statement that appears whenever a user opens the Bronx Defenders website, the firm said it "abhors the use of violence against the police under any circumstance," that it "never approved the music video and never saw it before it went online," and that it deeply regretted "any involvement with the video."
Mayor Bill de Blasio echoed the DOI's criticisms, calling the report "deeply disturbing."
"Any endorsement of violence against police officers is completely unacceptable and will absolutely not be tolerated," the mayor said in a statement. "The administration has demanded Bronx Defenders take immediate action in response to the findings of DOI. Unless those actions are fully responsive to the serious issues raised here, the city will take all legal and contractual actions available to it."
In a statement, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the largest NYPD union, called for the Bronx Defenders to be "shut down" and for the disbarment of the attorneys involved.
Ever since a lone gunman shot and killed two police officers in Brooklyn late last year, the city has been engaged in a debate over whether rhetorical calls for violence against police are acceptable.
In December, a small group of protesters caused outrage when they chanted for dead cops during a large demonstration demanding an end to police brutality. The protesters later said their chants shouldn't be taken literarily, but where meant as a way to separate themselves from more moderate protesters.
In January, a Brooklyn teenager was arrested and charged with terrorism after he posted 👮🔫 to his Facebook profile. Several activists called the arrest excessive and a threat to free speech.