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NYPD's new political strategy: Attacking judges on social media.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 29, 2024
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Sergi Reboredo/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 29, 2024
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High-ranking members of the NYPD this week called out a state Supreme Court judge by name on social media after they said she allowed a man with multiple prior arrests to go free before trial.
It's not unusual for the NYPD to be vocal about criminal justice polices they perceive as being "soft" on crime. Examples include elimination of cash bail in some cases and releasing people from jail who have been accused of nonviolent crimes. However, the strategy of calling out judges by name on social media represents a sharp escalation of the department's political posturing, and legal experts say it can amount to intimidating judges.
Chief of Patrol John Chell said Acting Supreme Court Justice J. Machelle Sweeting had failed to “do her job” by releasing from custody a man accused of fare evasion, narcotics possession and grand larceny. Chell said the man, Rudell Faulkner, had been arrested six times this year, including for four felonies. None of them appear to involve violence.
“She set free a predator back into the community, who may be on your next train, or walking the streets of our city, looking for his next victim,” Chell wrote, praising the district attorney for bringing “proper charges” against Faulkner and slamming Sweeting for allegedly not setting bail for him.
Chell also included what appeared to be a mugshot of Faulkner, noting he had been arrested a total of 47 times and had 28 convictions. The post was reshared on X — formerly known as Twitter — by three top NYPD officials: Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry and Chief of Transit Michael Kemper.
“Gather round, because it’s time for another episode of the ‘Revolving Door of NYC Criminal Justice!’” Daughtry wrote. All four men report directly to Police Commissioner Edward Caban, whom Mayor Eric Adams appointed last year.
Under Adams, a former NYPD officer, police brass have been outspoken on social media, sounding off about crimes and their alleged perpetrators. The NYPD was part of an aggressive public campaign Adams mounted last year against City Council legislation requiring officers to report low-level investigatory stops of civilians, which passed over the mayor’s veto anyway.
But NYPD officials’ focus now seems to have widened to people beyond those accused of crimes. A spokesperson for the department told Gothamist on Wednesday that police are using social media to “battle back” against what they consider misguided actions and inaccurate portrayals of policing and public safety issues – and that they have no qualms about naming judges.
Last week, Maddrey and Daughtry took to X to criticize a freelance journalist, Talia Jane, over her coverage of local protests, including those related to the war in Gaza. The news outlet Hell Gate reported that the officials’ posts were later deleted without explanation.
The head of the New York State Bar Association, Richard Lewis, said he couldn’t comment on a specific case but said calling out judges set a dangerous precedent.
“Judges cannot act with true independence if they fear for their own safety or that of their loved ones,” Lewis said in a statement. “Without an independent judiciary, we cannot maintain the system of checks and balances that underpins the Constitution.”
Jeffrey Fagan, a professor at Columbia Law School who focuses on crime and policing, said Chell’s statements are dangerous in the current environment.
“If he keeps this up, somebody’s going to get hurt, and it might well be a judge,” he said.
On Wednesday someone sent the Manhattan judge in former President Donald Trump’s fraud case an envelope with a white powder, though it was later deemed to be non-toxic.
It's not the last judge we're going to look at. I would ask the judge, ‘Why do you let these people out?’
NYPD spokesperson Tarik Sheppard
Molly Biklen, associate legal director of the nonprofit New York Civil Liberties Union, said it was “not the role of police officials to go after a judge for exercising her judicial discretion and judgment on a case.”
NYPD spokesperson Tarik Sheppard defended Chell’s post and said other judges could be targeted as well.
“We totally support the tweet that Chief Chell put out,” said Sheppard, who serves as deputy commissioner of public information. “And it's not the last judge we're going to look at. I would ask the judge, ‘Why do you let these people out?’”
The mayor — who campaigned on promises to improve public safety — has taken a particularly hands-on approach to policing, racing to crime scenes and participating in a police raid earlier this month.
Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for Adams, did not respond to a question about the city’s social media policies but backed the officials’ comments. According to a city document, each city agency is responsible for developing their own internal guidelines.
“New York City is the safest big city in America, but while New Yorkers are safe, we must make sure they feel safe too,” he said in a statement. “When misinformation festers on social media, the NYPD is countering it with facts.”
The police tweets contained a factual error: Chell praised Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for requesting bail, but the case is being handled by the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
Faulkner’s arrests date back to 1991, according to NYPD records shared with Gothamist. He was arrested mostly for fare evasion, possessing drugs and stealing.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was asked about the police posts during an unrelated press conference at City Hall and called the NYPD’s communications “disturbing” and “troubling” — echoing her previous criticism of the department’s messaging against the police transparency legislation.
“It’s not something we would encourage our children to do,” she said. “I would hope that our responsible agencies, particularly like the NYPD and others, would take a stronger look at the rhetoric and the language that they’re using and at the lives that are affected by using social media in this way.”
Sandy Nurse, a councilmember who chairs the committee on criminal justice, also expressed disapproval when shown Chell’s comments.
“The Chief has a specific job to do and as far as I know, this type of subtle Twitter bullying of judges is not one of them,” Nurse said in a text.
The state Office of Court Administration, which oversees New York’s courts, did not respond to a request for comment.
Sweeting has been a judge since 2015 and was initially elected to New York City Civil Court. State data shows her arraignment decisions on bail have closely followed the citywide average, where state judges release defendants on their own recognizance roughly half the time.
Sweeting set bail slightly less often than the citywide average — 10% compared to 13%. She released people with conditions other than money bail, such as court-ordered supervision, slightly more than the average — 15% compared to 13%.
Giulia Heyward, Samantha Max and Bahar Ostadan contributed reporting.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the New York State Bar Association.
Tagged
criminal justice
public safety
nypd
Alvin Bragg
eric adams
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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