Civil Rights Organizations Issue Response to Independent Monitor’s Latest Report Regarding NYPD’s Discipline Process for Officer Misconduct

Read a PDF of our statement here.

(NEW YORK, NY) - Yesterday, the Independent Monitor of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) released a report examining the NYPD's discipline process for misconduct by uniformed officers. Currently, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) are responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct involving NYPD officers. In all instances, the NYPD Commissioner has the final say on discipline.

The Independent Monitor's report identifies a number of concerning failures in the discipline and accountability process for the NYPD, including:

• The NYPD rarely disciplines officers who commit violations in their stops, frisks, or searches of persons, despite the NYPD being under a court-mandated reform process following a court finding that it violated the constitutional rights of Black and Latinx New Yorkers with its stop-and-frisk policies and practices.
• Between 2017 and 2019, only 10% of officers were penalized with penalty days after the CCRB substantiated an illegal stop, frisk, or search.
• Following stop, frisk, or search violations, training has been repeatedly ordered for officers that had undergone the same training on multiple prior occasions.
• Supervisors who failed to monitor or compel their officers to engage in lawful stops, frisks, and/or searches faced "close to non-existent" discipline.
• Precinct commanders rarely impose penalty days as discipline for officers who are found to have committed misconduct related to stops and/or frisks.

In response to the release of the NYPD Independent Monitor's report, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Legal Aid Society issued the following statements:

"The Independent Monitor's report illustrates in detail what we have long known: the oversight and accountability system for the NYPD is broken. NYPD officers routinely avoid discipline when they engage in illegal stops, frisks, and searches of New Yorkers, who are disproportionately Black or Brown," said LDF Senior Counsel Charles McLaurin. "New Yorkers deserve a fair and transparent process to pursue justice when they have been harmed by the very officers who are sworn to protect them. Unless the system of oversight for the NYPD is overhauled, officers will continue to escape consequences when they engage in misconduct."

"Allowing officers who have violated the rights of New Yorkers to resume policing our communities consequence-free is a grave disservice to the individuals - primarily New Yorkers of color - they've harmed," said Phil Desgranges, Attorney-in-Charge of Criminal Law Reform at The Legal Aid Society. "The NYPD's continued noncompliance with these court orders proves the Department prefers to sweep instances of misconduct under the rug rather than address the culture of impunity that continues to allow innocent civilians to be unfairly harassed and harmed. New Yorkers deserve better, and NYPD officers must be held to account when they have been found to have committed misconduct. The NYPD discipline system, and the independent oversight agencies involved in the process, must be significantly strengthened. It is clear that the NYPD cannot be trusted to police itself."

Read the full report here. The Legal Defense Fund and the Legal Aid Society represent a class of plaintiffs 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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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation's first civil and human rights law organization. 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. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary 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 NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.

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 nearly 150 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. www.legalaidnyc.org