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Manhattan judge questions NYPD’s attempt to fire 30 officers with 24-hour notice
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Jul 15, 2025
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Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Jul 15, 2025
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A Manhattan judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical as lawyers for the NYPD argued that police officials should have the ability to fire 30 police officers and not allow them to appeal.
At a hearing that pitted the city’s attorney against the NYPD’s largest police union, Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond denied the city's request to lift a temporary block on the firings issued last week.
The NYPD moved to fire the officers with virtually no notice after department officials discovered they had been hired despite having been flagged for disqualifying offenses during the application process. The department said notices, for infractions such as prior criminal convictions, prior arrests and failing a department psych exam, mean the officers need to be fired now.
In court, the city’s attorney, Marina Sukonnik, said an inspector with the Candidate Assessment Division approved the officers for the police academy despite the disqualifications. She said he did so unilaterally and without authorization. An NYPD spokesperson identified the inspector as Terrell Anderson.
Sukonnik said the NYPD now wants to fire the officers to right the wrong that happened when they were improperly hired.
Judge Perry-Bond acknowledged the unique situation, but repeatedly questioned Sukonnik about whether firing the officers without allowing them the opportunity to appeal is the best course of action.
“Giving 24 hours notice? That’s righting the wrong?” the judge asked.
Sukonnik responded that the officers should go through the entire application process again.
The judge said the officers whose jobs are threatened are human beings whose livelihoods are at stake.
An attorney for the Police Benevolent Association, Matthew Daly, argued the city should be permanently blocked from firing the officers. He said the officers should at the very least have the right to appeal the dismissals.
Daly said the NYPD placing blame on a single inspector is a “classic scapegoat scenario.” He said the lenient hiring practices were a response from top department brass to a hiring crisis at the NYPD.
“It’s not plausible that no one knew what was going on,” Daly said of the inspector overriding the disqualifications.
An NYPD spokesperson said the hiring of these officers was a violation of the law – another point challenged by Daly at the hearing.
The proposed firings became public last week after NYPD officials contacted the officers in question and said they would need to resign or be fired within 24 hours, according to court papers.
The union then filed an emergency petition to temporarily block the firings.
An NYPD spokesperson said last week that 31 officers were subject to firing. A spokesperson clarified that one of those officers had agreed to resign and the number is now 30.
Charles Lane contributed reporting
Tagged
new york city
public safety
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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