Legal Aid, Legal Defense Fund Condemn NYPD for Chronic Underreporting of Civilian Police Stops

Read a PDF of our statement here.

Independent Monitor Report Shows Only 59% of Stops Were Accurately Reported in 2023

(NEW YORK, NY) - The Legal Aid Society and the Legal Defense Fund today condemned the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for their failure to properly adhere to a Court Order requiring officers to complete a stop report form after every Terry stop, defined as when an "officer detains a civilian such that the person is not free to leave."

According to a report released today by the NYPD's Court-appointed Independent Monitor, only 59% of Terry stops were documented in 2023, and only 69% were documented in 2022. The Monitor team assessed body-worn camera (BWC) videos in each quarter of 2022 and 2023, amounting to 225 BWC videos categorized as an investigative encounter.

The Monitor's report stated, "The NYPD appears to be headed in the wrong direction and must take immediate steps, including discipline when appropriate, to correct this failure to properly document Terry stops."

In 2013, a federal court appointed an independent monitor to oversee reforms ordered in Floyd v. City of New York. The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Legal Aid Society (LAS) represented the plaintiffs in a related federal class action lawsuit, Davis v. City of New York, which challenged the NYPD's racially discriminatory and unconstitutional stop-and-frisk and trespass enforcement practices in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residences. The settlement reached in the Davis case has been incorporated by court order into the monitorship ordered in the Floyd case.

"The NYPD's chronic underreporting of their encounters with civilians - which has only worsened since 2022 - shows a startling lack of interest in complying with court orders intended to keep New Yorkers safe and informed," said Karina Tefft, Staff Attorney in the Cop Accountability Project at The Legal Aid Society. "Without accurate recording of Terry stops, it is impossible for the Monitor to assess compliance accurately. The NYPD has the necessary training and tools to record Terry stops properly, and there is no excuse, aside from willful negligence, for their noncompliance. There must be accountability and oversight for NYPD officers and supervisors failing to record stops."

"Despite a court order requiring an accurate record of each stop, the NYPD persists in detaining New Yorkers without appropriate documentation in a stunning display of non-compliance," said Charles McLaurin, Senior Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. "For too long, New Yorkers have tirelessly fought for transparency in policing. The NYPD cannot be allowed to undermine these efforts by engaging in a pattern of inaccurate and insufficient reporting. We continue our efforts to hold the NYPD accountable for denying New Yorkers the full transparency they deserve."

The Legal Defense Fund and the Legal Aid Society represent a class of Black and Latinx public housing residents and their guests, who sued the NYPD for abusive stop and frisk and trespass arrests in one of the three consolidated cases that led to the appointment of the NYPD Monitor and the publication of this report. Selendy Gay PLLC has been participating in the case as pro bono counsel.

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The Legal Aid Society exists for one simple yet powerful reason: to ensure that New Yorkers are not denied their right to equal justice because of poverty. For over 145 years, we have protected, defended, and advocated for those who have struggled in silence for far too long. Every day, in every borough, The Legal Aid Society changes the lives of our clients and helps improve our communities. https://www.legalaidnyc.org

Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights law organization. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multidisciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957-although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.