The city agency that investigates police misconduct is publicly releasing “stigmatizing” unsubstantiated claims of sexual misconduct, racial profiling and perjury made against NYPD cops — unfounded allegations that can wreck an officer’s career and reputation even after proven false, a bombshell lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal court Tuesday claims.
The Police Benevolent Association lawsuit alleges that the Civilian Complaint Review Board admits that, until they are substantiated, these claims “do extreme prejudice to the reputations of police officers” and warrant confidential treatment until the claims are confirmed.
Yet the union says that, according to a blanket policy put in place last October, the CCRB is “knowingly disseminating those life-altering smears in response to Freedom of Information Law requests,” the lawsuit claims.
Many of these FOIL requests come from the website 50-a.org, a searchable online database of NYPD officers that includes lists of substantiated allegations, discipline cases, and lawsuit settlements. The information is disseminated even if the allegations were proven false, which violates the officers’ constitutional rights, the lawsuit claims.
While the CCRB identifies a sexual misconduct complaint as “abuse of authority: other” on its own website, third-party websites like 50-a.org, who get the same information from FOIL requests, put “abuse of authority: sexual misconduct” or “abuse of authority: sexual misconduct (sexually motivated search),” the lawsuit claims.
“CCRB’s publication regime for stigmatizing unsubstantiated complaints inflicts severe reputational harm on police officers, jeopardizes their safety, and risks crippling their employment prospects. Meanwhile, CCRB does not provide officers with notice or an opportunity to be heard prior to the disclosure,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit notes that the CCRB, by releasing these unsubstantiated details through FOIL is ignoring recommendations from the Committee on Open Government, the state agency responsible for overseeing and providing advisory opinions on FOIL, which has “recognized the continued applicability of privacy and safety rights” when it comes to police officer records.
FOIL also “requires an agency to evaluate each record individually” and “where redactions would prevent such an invasion (of privacy) and can be made without unreasonable difficulty, the agency must disclose the record with those necessary redactions,” the lawsuit noted.
The CCRB said in response to the suit that its “investigations are complete, thorough and impartial.”
“The agency continually reviews all applicable laws and regulations regarding the public release of its records, including disciplinary histories of members of service, to ensure it is fully compliant,” the statement continued. “As this is now the subject of litigation, we cannot comment further at this time.
PBA President Patrick Hendry believes the CCRB is colluding with 50-a.org and other anti-police activists to “smear cops with false complaints.” The union has frequently criticized the CCRB as being hostile to police officers.
The releasing of these unsubstantiated claims is “a calculated effort to end proactive enforcement and drive cops away from the job,” Hendry said Tuesday.
“CCRB has admitted that these baseless allegations will destroy a cop’s career and life outside of work, yet the agency still made the deliberate choice to dump them into public view,” Hendry said.
“Through this federal lawsuit, we intend to put a stop to this destructive practice and expose CCRB’s radical agenda to ‘Abolish the Police’ by trampling cops’ rights.”
President of the Police Benevolent Association Patrick Henry, center, speaks during a press conference outside Queens Criminal Court in Queens, New York on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)
While these claims are redacted on the CCRB’s website, they’re given over to anyone who files a FOIL request. Cops have no control over false complaints being filed against him, the lawsuit states.
Once this information is shared online “they are published for the lifetimes of the officers and beyond and are available to employers, landlords, educational institutions, banks, and the public at large, despite affording officers no process to challenge such disclosures or remove the defamatory content from the database.”
The lawsuit is not demanding the CCRB stop giving out information about police misconduct, but to tighten up their disclosure policy when it comes to what the union calls “stigmatizing unsubstantiated complaints,” particularly when it comes to claims of sexual misconduct, racial profiling and perjury.
“Such stigmatizing unsubstantiated complaints are particularly inflammatory, stigmatizing, and damaging to the reputations, safety, and employment prospects of police officers, including unsubstantiated accusations of serious criminal conduct such as rape, sexual assault, and perjury,” the lawsuit notes.
An email to both the CCRB and the city’s Law Department, and 50-a.org for comment on the lawsuit was not immediately returned.