Amanda Jack is a lawyer at The Legal Aid Society in New York City, where she is Policy Director for the organization's Criminal Law Reform Unit. She was previously Director of Policy for Legal Aid's Criminal Defense Practice and earlier worked as an attorney in that practice. Her policy work has covered New York's criminal discovery law and policing in New York City.
Case
Six people died after medical emergencies in NYPD custody in 2026. Public defenders blame systemic neglect; the NYPD says it investigates every death and most detainees were seen by doctors first.
Role at the time: Policy director at The Legal Aid Society, speaking to Gothamist
Statement summary
Amanda Jack of the Legal Aid Society said that once the NYPD keeps someone in custody it is responsible for that person's well-being, and that people in a substance-use crisis or withdrawal need timely medical care and should not be held in prolonged police custody while awaiting arraignment on low-level offenses.
“Once the NYPD chooses to keep someone in custody, it assumes responsibility for that person's well-being ... People experiencing a substance-use crisis or withdrawal need timely medical care, and they should not remain in prolonged police custody while awaiting arraignment on low-level offenses.”
The reference point is whether the NYPD and the city are failing people who fall ill in police custody. Jack says that once the NYPD keeps someone in custody "it assumes responsibility for that person's well-being" and that people in withdrawal "should not remain in prolonged police custody while awaiting arraignment on low-level offenses." That faults how the NYPD holds people in that condition, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, which would fit support for current screening with added safeguards; she rejects prolonged custody for them on low-level charges.
Statement dates: July 23, 2026
Statement dates: July 23, 2026
Statement dates: July 23, 2026
Statement dates: July 23, 2026
