NYC taxpayers paid nearly $54 million to settle NYPD misconduct claims as Mayor Zohran Mamdani has “yet to deliver meaningful policing reform,” justice advocates charged on Wednesday.

New data from the Legal Aid Society released on Sept. 16 showed that seven months into the Mamdani administration, New Yorkers paid millions to resolve lawsuits alleging NYPD officer misconduct with $53.5 million paid between Jan. 1 and July 31. 

During that period, there were 493 lawsuits.

“Rather than advancing the transformational policing reforms promised on the campaign trail, the Mamdani administration has continued many of the enforcement strategies championed by former Mayor Eric Adams despite pledging to chart a fundamentally different course,” Legal Aid said in a statement.

Some of the police reforms Mamdani zeroed in on while campaigning for mayor last year included disbanding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, saying that the elite group should not be used to manage protests. 

Legal Aid also criticized the administration for continuing fare evasion enforcement and what they described as other “low-level” enforcement practices in the subway system. 

“New Yorkers voted for a fundamentally different approach to public safety, one that promised to move away from the failed policing strategies that have driven over-policing, undermined constitutional rights, and failed to make New Yorkers safer,” said Phil Desgranges, attorney-in-charge of criminal law reform at Legal Aid. “Seven months into the Mamdani administration, taxpayers continue paying millions to resolve allegations of police misconduct while New Yorkers continue to suffer the consequences of over-policing.”

Officers speak out

Police unions pushed back on the criticism from the analysis, saying lawsuit settlements do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing by officers.

“Lawsuit payments are no reflection on how police officers are performing their duties,” Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Patrick Hendry told amNewYork. “The city routinely settles lawsuits in cases where police officers have done nothing wrong, rather than fighting them in court. Police officers are often not informed of these settlements and have no opportunity to clear their name.”

Even officers who have been off the job for years can still find their complaints on 50-a.org, even if all the complaints are unfounded or the officer was exonerated. 

Meanwhile, amNewYork contacted the mayor’s office for comment on the lawsuit settlements and police reform and is awaiting a response. 

Calling out bad behavior

Legal Aid and other advocates singled out some officers, including Queens’ 113th Precinct Lt. Howard Roth, who has accumulated over $400,000 in civil suit payouts among 11 different cases, most involving the city, but some involving private entities, such as big-box superstore Target. 

In one case, according to 50-a.org, Roth and other officers arrested a woman at a Washington Heights roadblock in 2023 after she pulled pepper spray from h er glove compartment while looking for her license and registration. The woman, who has multiple sclerosis, alleged Roth handcuffed her and prevented her from using her cane. 

The case was settled for $42,500 in 2025.

“The NYPD consistently refuses to meaningfully discipline officers who kill and abuse New Yorkers, perpetuating the violence and sending a clear message that officers can enact grievous harm with impunity,” Divad Durant, member of the Justice Committee in NYC, said. “Take Lt. Howard Roth, who has a record of 48 misconduct allegations and has cost the city over $400,000 in civil suit payouts so far.

However, of Roth’s 48 misconduct allegations, 15 were substantiated, according to 50-a.org. 

But Durant also called attention to the police shooting of Allan Feliz in 2019 by Jonathan Rivera and other high-profile cases.

“Or Officer Wayne Isaacs, whose discipline process for killing Delrawn Small has dragged on for over a decade,” Durant said. “The list goes on, because these cases are not the exception – they’re the status quo for NYPD. Without critical action from the Mamdani administration, New Yorkers will continue to be harmed by cops and then forced to pay for their impunity with their tax dollars.” 

Last year, Legal Aid and other public defender organizations released a 10-point plan calling for an end to “broken windows policing” after a series of deaths in NYPD custody. However, the mayor has ot yete implemented any of the recommendations, Legal Aid reps said.