NYPD Still Illegally Withholds Misconduct Records, Lawsuit Claims

New York City NY

01 October, 2021

11:33 AM

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NEW YORK CITY — NYPD officials continue to hide misconduct and disciplinary files on cops, despite a new transparency law, a new lawsuit argues. New York Civil Liberties Union lawyers Thursday sued the NYPD to force release of internal disciplinary databases. The NYPD recently released misconduct files under the repeal of 50-a — a law long-used by police to deny requests for records — but has unlawfully withheld a wider set of complaints, the lawsuit argues. "The police can't be trusted to police themselves," the NYCLU tweeted. In March, the NYPD published a very narrow set of internally-substantiated officer misconduct records - but have unlawfully denied our requests for their full slate of disciplinary databases. The police can't be trusted to police themselves. So we're suing: pic.twitter.com/Ooue90Kage— NYCLU (@NYCLU) September 30, 2021 The repeal of 50-a and release of NYPD misconduct files coincided with a long fight for police accountability that was galvanized by the murder of George Floyd. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared "good riddance" once the law was repealed and court challenges by police unions were defeated. The victory by transparency advocates resulted in the NYPD releasing some disciplinary files in an online database. But the NYCLU argued the release wasn't enough. They filed requests for both disciplinary records and misconduct complaints that didn't lead to action by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Those records also include complaints of sexual misconduct or racial profiling. The NYPD denied those requests, according the NYCLU. "By no means has the NYPD entered a new era of transparency by disclosing only those misconduct complaints that they themselves deemed worthy of prosecution," Lupe Aguirre, an NYCLU staff attorney, said in a statement. "NYPD officers cannot be trusted to investigate and discipline themselves, and New Yorkers have a right to know the substance and outcome of all NYPD complaints."