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NYC paid $200 million to settle police misconduct lawsuits in 2024, report says
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Feb 18, 2025
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José A. Alvarado Jr. / Gothamist
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Feb 18, 2025
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The city paid more than $200 million to settle police misconduct lawsuits in 2024, the most since at least 2018, according to a Legal Aid analysis. The 2024 figure is also $89 million more than the city paid out in 2023, the analysis finds.
The payouts covered 953 police misconduct lawsuits, including major payments to a number of people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes years ago.
In total, the city paid out $205.6 million, according to the legal advocacy nonprofit. That’s nearly three times the $77 million it will cost the city to put increased police patrols in the subway for three months.
“The staggering payout totals for 2024 prove that the city would rather spend tens of millions in taxpayer dollars each year than take decisive action to dismantle the culture of impunity within the NYPD that allows this gross misconduct to persist,” Amanda Jack, a policy director at Legal Aid, said in a statement.
Legal Aid used data published by the city in its analysis. A law passed in 2017 requires the Law Department to publish data related to civil actions alleging “misconduct commenced against the police department” twice per year.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the payouts relate to police misconduct as well as prosecutorial misconduct. The spokesperson said 64 percent of the cases were for wrongful convictions, including 53 percent from wrongful convictions more than 20 years ago. Settlements in wrongful conviction suits last year drove up the total payout figure, according to the numbers.
“These wrongful convictions led to the exonerees spending over 20 years in prison,” said Kalle Condliffe, a senior staff attorney at Legal Aid.
Legal Aid said the payouts show the effectiveness of the state’s discovery law reforms that were implemented in 2020. Since the law took effect, there has not been a conviction overturned because of withheld exculpatory evidence, a policy advocate from the Innocence Project told the New York State Legislature last week.
Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed amending the changes to the discovery law in her State of the State address last month. She said her proposals will “streamline” the discovery process and not allow cases to be dismissed based on technicalities that don’t relate to the merits of a case.
Two cases with multimillion-dollar payouts are:
Norberto Peets v. City of New York et. al.
Norberto Peets was imprisoned for 26 years after he was convicted of attempted murder in a 1996 shooting.
Peets’ conviction in the shooting was vacated in 2022 after DNA testing on a hat believed to belong to the actual shooter did not match his. His charges were dismissed in 2023 after attorneys for the Innocence Project also presented evidence about a bullet fragment that struck the actual gunman. The NYPD lost both the fragment and the envelope it was stored in, Legal Aid said.
Peets was awarded $14.75 million in the settlement.
James Davis v. City of New York et. al.
Another wrongful conviction case highlighted by Legal Aid ended in a $8.5 million settlement to James Davis, who was exonerated of murder in 2021 after spending 17 years in prison.
According to Legal Aid, an eyewitness told detectives the man killed in the shooting had tried to stab him – and the actual gunman opened fire to defend him from the stabbing. But the group says the detective investigating that case either didn't pursue that lead, or didn't share that information with the court.
“Had the exculpatory information withheld by the police been shared with the prosecutors and the defense, Mr. Davis may not have been tried, much less convicted,” Legal Aid said in a statement.
This story has been updated to include comment from an NYPD spokesperson.
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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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