New York City\u2019s largest police union is suing the watchdog agency that investigates allegations of officer misconduct, saying the Civilian Complaint Review Board has stigmatized officers by sharing \u201cinflammatory\u201d records related to unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct, bias-based policing and lying.<\/p>\n
The Police Benevolent Association is urging the CCRB to redact officers\u2019 identifying information when it turns over records related to these three categories of misconduct, if the officers were not found guilty of wrongdoing. It\u2019s also asking the agency to implement a process for officers to clear their names before these types of unsubstantiated complaints are disclosed.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit specifically takes aim at 50-a.org<\/a>, a website that draws from various datasets and public records to share information about members of the NYPD, including their position in the department, complaints they have faced, disciplinary history and lawsuits filed against them.<\/p>\n The suit alleges that when the CCRB shares unredacted records through Freedom of Information Law requests, they often end up on the website, \u201cregardless of the lack of veracity of the accusations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCCRB\u2019s under-the-table collusion with anti-police activists to smear cops with false complaints is not only unfair and unconstitutional \u2014 it is a calculated effort to end proactive enforcement and drive cops away from the job,\u201d PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement. \u201cCCRB has admitted that these baseless allegations will destroy a cop\u2019s career and life outside of work, yet the agency still made the deliberate choice to dump them into public view.\u201d<\/p>\n Dakota Gardner, a spokesperson for the CCRB said in a statement that the agency\u2019s investigations are \u201ccomplete, thorough and impartial.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n