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NYPD agreed to hand over evidence in misconduct cases within 90 days
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Dec 14, 2023
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Dec 14, 2023
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NYPD officials say they will turn over evidence in police misconduct cases to an oversight agency within 90 days — a stark shift in policy that, if followed, will make it easier to punish officers who break the rules.
But the executive director of the oversight agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, conceded that there are no penalties in place if police fail to meet that deadline.
When police fail to turn over evidence promptly, an investigation can take so long that by the time a decision is finally reached, the statute of limitations is passed and the administrative judge deciding the case cannot impose punishment on the officer.
That’s what happened recently in the investigation into the death of Kawaski Trawick, a Bronx man who police oversight officials said was having a mental health crisis when police entered his supportive housing unit and, within two minutes, Tasered and shot him to death. Prosecutors for the police watchdog group missed the statute of limitations deadline by nearly five months, mostly because of long delays in the NYPD turning over evidence, an oversight official said on Wednesday.
CCRB leaders said the agreement is a major step toward holding police accountable.
“We … hope it will ensure officers who commit misconduct cannot avoid discipline due to a technicality,” said Arva Rice, the CCRB's interim chair, at a monthly meeting on Wednesday.
The memorandum, which was signed Dec. 5 and shared exclusively with Gothamist, requires that the NYPD hand over “all evidence” in police misconduct cases requested by the oversight agency, including police body worn camera footage, metadata of body worn camera footage, audio and video recordings, medical records, officer training records, transcripts of statements or interviews and any NYPD paperwork.
There are roughly 15 cases where requested evidence is currently on hold by the NYPD, according to CCRB Executive Director Jonathan Darche. Darche said the police department will turn over evidence in those cases by March 2024.
One such case is the shooting of Raul de la Cruz, a Bronx man whose dad called 311 for psychiatric help during his son’s schizophrenic episode in March. Gothamist submitted records requests to the NYPD for body-worn camera footage of the shooting. Those requests were denied by the NYPD.
As of last month, the NYPD was withholding evidence requested by the oversight agency in 53 separate cases for more than 90 days, according to a CCRB report. Last month, there were nearly 100 cases where the NYPD “did not find” body worn camera footage that was requested by the watchdog group.
The CCRB can recommend charges against an officer following an incident and prosecute the police misconduct case in an NYPD trial room. But the police commissioner decides whether the NYPD follows those recommendations.
Last week, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban cleared two officers of wrongdoing following a 2020 incident in which officers Andrey Samusev and Daniel Alvarez drove their SUVs into a crowd of protesters at a Black Lives Matter protest in Brooklyn.
So far this year, eight law enforcement officials have been found guilty after trial by the CCRB. None have been fired by the police department, according to a CCRB report. The NYPD disciplined officers in nearly half of the 133 cases adjudicated by the CCRB this year by revoking up to 10 vacation days.
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Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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