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NYCLU Sues NYPD For Still Keeping Full Set Of Disciplinary Databases Away From Public View
By
David Cruz
Published Oct 1, 2021
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C.S. Muncy/Gothamist
By
David Cruz
Published Oct 1, 2021
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The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing the NYPD for the release of more disciplinary records of officers it requested in the spring, arguing the public database currently available offers an incomplete look of misconduct complaints New Yorkers are entitled to see.
In their complaint filed Thursday in State Supreme Court, attorneys for the NYCLU said the NYPD had illegally denied a request for more disciplinary records of officers the group made through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) in April. The group claimed last year's repeal of the state's 50-a provision—which protected officers from having their disciplinary records made public—allowed such access.
The repeal of 50-a led to the creation of a searchable database of NYPD disciplinary records in March 2021, following a series of legal challenges by police and fire unions. But the NYCLU said the public database only lists the outcome of cases that were deemed "substantiated," meaning the officer was found to have committed an infraction, which led to a departmental trial.
Further, the NYPD has historically stonewalled investigations that would substantiate cases.
READ MORE: New NYPD Database Offers "Narrow" Glimpse At Police Disciplinary Records
In its FOIL request, the NYCLU asked for the release of all databases regardless of whether the complaint led to disciplinary action or if it was even investigated. The data was to include the name, rank, and precinct an officer worked at during the time the complaint was made. The data was also to include the type of complaint filed and the date and location where the alleged incident occurred. But according to an exhibit filed in the suit, the NYPD denied the FOIL request for being "too broad in nature." The NYCLU was told by the NYPD that the request was also "burdensome or voluminous," according to the filing.
READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About The Freedom Of Information Law
“They're using existing FOIL law to really try to erect barriers to this particular request,” Lupe Aguirre, staff attorney at the NYCLU, said in an interview Gothamist/WNYC. "They say they're all about transparency and yet they're unwilling to respond adequately to records requests."
In a statement, an NYPD spokesperson said the repeal of 50-a does "not mean that the department is now compelled to publish all personnel related information, but doing so is no longer prohibited by law."
Prior to the repeal of 50-a, the NYCLU had obtained disciplinary records from the CCRB through a FOIL request and created its own database, containing nearly 280,000 complaints of misconduct going back over 30 years. They also partnering with various law firms to sue other police departments across the state for the release of more records.
Christopher Dunn, the NYCLU's legal director, said the lawsuit is another step in ensuring the "repeal of section 50-a leads to actual transparency and public access to documents about police misconduct long withheld from the public."
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David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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