NYPD Agrees to Reforms on Disciplinary Practices, Including Pushing for Transparency

An independent panel, appointed by the New York City police commissioner to review the NYPD's disciplinary practices, echoed the long-held complaint of watchdog groups and many city residents: the police department releases too little information about how it disciplines officers for misconduct, such as excessive force, abuse of authority or making false statements. 

The current lack of disclosure erodes the public trust, according to the panel's report released Friday.

"The public's confidence in the department to hold its own accountable depends on its openness and candor, and indeed the department's mission itself depends on the public's confidence," said Mary Jo White, the former U.S. Attorney, who chaired the panel.

White said the panel worked for seven months and reviewed the NYPD's disciplinary practices from 2016 and 2017. One of the key issues flagged in the report is the NYPD's aggressive interpretation of a state law meant to shield personnel records from public view. That law, Civil Rights Law 50-A, keeps police misconduct issues shrouded in secrecy. 

The panel recommended that the NYPD actively support a legislative push in Albany to amend 50-A and to also guard against efforts to broaden the law's scope, such as a current effort to shield body-camera footage from public view.

James O'Neill, the police commissioner, on Friday said the department supported amending the law. 

"I think we need to put out names, charges, documents and outcomes," O'Neill said. "This is all about building trust."

Chris Dunn, legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the law is what hampers any ability to hold the police accountable for the way it investigates and disciplines officers. 

"If you're a victim, or if you're just an advocate paying attention to the department, there's very little actual information about what counts — which is what's happened to police officers who engage in misconduct," said Dunn. 

A change in the law would not just provide meaningful information to the public, but it could also change behaviors within the NYPD, Dunn said.

"If they know that people are going to find out how they discipline cops, they're going to act very differently than they do now where nobody finds out."

Other recommendations in the panel's report include:

• A call for the police commissioner to issue written decisions when he overrides a recommended outcome. Those decisions should clearly explain, in writing, the logic behind the recommended discipline and any relevant precedent.
• Hiring at least 10 additional attorneys to speed up what many consider an excessive slow disciplinary process. 
• A "fast track" system for settlements involving less serious offenses. 
• Updating disciplinary record-keeping and evaluating whether, and how, the NYPD can develop a disciplinary matrix to better streamline penalties for misconduct.

O'Neill said the NYPD fully accepted and embraced the recommendations put forth by the panel. He named Ben Tucker, the department's first deputy commissioner, to lead the group implementing the recommendations. 

O'Neill said that recommendations the department planned to implement quickly included supporting changes to Civil Rights Law 50-A; publishing calendars for the NYPD trial room, where disciplinary proceedings take place; and providing more documentation, on the part of the commissioner, for disciplinary decisions.