4 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 27, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
NYPD offi cer complaints released in new database
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
radomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Over 300,000 complaints about New
York Police Department offi cer misconduct
have been released due to a new database
from the New York Civil Liberties
Union published last week.
Th e complaints all come from reports
compiled from the New York City Civilian
Complaint Review Board (CCRB), an
independent agency that investigates
complaints of police wrongdoing against
civilians.
Th e database contains information
about 323,911 complaints dating back to
1985 concerning 81,550 diff erent offi cers.
Th at’s an average of 923 complaints a year.
Out of those complaints, only 8,699 led
to an NYPD penalty, according to a news
release from the NYCLU. In the CCRB
reports, 19,833 offi cers were named in
fi ve or more complaints, but only 12 offi -
cers were terminated or dismissed by
the department, according to the dataset.
Over 20,800 of the complaints were substantiated
by the CCRB.
“Until now, the police accountability
process has been at the discretion
of the NYPD, which determines which
CCRB investigations result in discipline
and what information is revealed from
that process,” said Christopher Dunn,
legal director of the NYCLU. “History has
File photo
shown the NYPD is unwilling to police
itself. Th e release of this database is an
important step towards greater transparency
and accountability and is just the
beginning of unraveling the monopoly
the NYPD holds on public information
and offi cer discipline.”
Th e NYCLU obtained the full records
of the database from the CCRB through
a FOIL request before the city’s misconduct
database became the subject of a lawsuit
fi led by a group of police, correction
and fi re unions against the mayor and the
CCRB. As a result of an order in that case,
the CCRB is blocked from further sharing
this information with the public, which
makes the NYCLU’s release all the more
important.
What made the release of the complaints
possible was the state Legislature’s
repeal of Section 50-a of New York’s Civil
Rights Law in June. Th e 44-year-old statute
deems the “personal records” of police
offi cers, fi refi ghters and corrections offi -
cers “confi dential and not subject to
review” without the offi cer’s permission.
On June 17, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced he would direct the NYPD to
create a database containing information
on all offi cers who have faced departmental
charges for misconduct.
Some activists groups like Communities
United For Police Reform and progressive
politicians have pushed for 50-a’s repeal
over the last eight years. Th e law was fi nally
changed though due to mounting pressure
for police reform during the second
wave of the Black Lives Matter movement
over the summer sparked by the death of
George Floyd.
Th e database was originally set to be
published last month on July 23. But during
a hearing on July 22, a federal court
barred the NYCLU from publishing or
sharing the records. Th e judge’s stay was
extended by the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit which
stopped the NYCLU from publishing the
database. But today the gag order was lift -
ed.
“Th e NYPD needs to be accountable
to the city it serves, and that cannot happen
so long as they continue to operate
behind a wall of secrecy,” said Donna
Lieberman, executive director of the
NYCLU. “As we reconsider and reimagine
the role of police in New York, we need
an honest reckoning with the NYPD’s
long, violent history. Sharing information
about offi cers with long histories of
misconduct is a public safety imperative
and a fi rst step toward justice for people
who have experienced police brutality.
Th is data hardly refl ects the entire story
of broken windows policing and police
impunity, but it helps paint the picture
of the dangerous, violent outcomes created
for so many Black and Brown New
Yorkers as a result.”
Database records contain complaints
of offi cers for “excessive force, abuse of
authority, discourtesy and off ensive language”
against the public, according to the
news release. All records contain the offi -
cers’ name, rank, precinct or other command,
detailed complaint, CCRB fi nal
fi nding on the validity of the complaint
and notes on any disciplinary action taken
by the NYPD. Th e database contains no
records of cases the CCRB is still investigating,
according to the NYCLU.
To view complaints, visit the CCRB data
website at nyc.gov/site/ccrb/policy/datatransparency
initiative-mos.page.
Addabbo alters annual veterans
BBQ amid COVID-19 pandemic
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Each year since being elected in 2008,
state Senator Joseph Addabbo has hosted
an end-of-summer barbecue to honor
local veterans and thank them for their
service.
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
when public health is paramount,
Addabbo didn’t want to abandon this
event, sohe altered the annual barbecue
to be a grab-and-go lunch for veterans
this year.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, veterans are
invited to come out to the Howard Beach
Motor Club, located at 59 Russell St. in
Hamilton Beach, from noon to 2 p.m. to
drive by and pick up a free lunch provided
by Russo’s on the Bay.
“Th is year is unlike any other that we
have faced in recent memory,” Addabbo
said. “As we struggle to fi nd some sense
of normalcy, I wanted to continue this
great event and help to honor our dedicated
veterans. As I like to say, every day
is Veterans Day, and this is one small way
that we get to thank the local veterans.”
In accordance with social distancing
guidelines, veterans will be asked to take
their lunch and leave the Howard Beach
Motor Cub to avoid overcrowding. In
order to attend this event and get their
free lunch, veterans are asked to call
Addabbo’s offi ce at 718-738-1111 to register.
Like Memorial Day, state Senator Joseph Addabbo and Russo’s on the Bay are honoring veterans
with a grab-and-go annual barbecue.
“I would like to thank the Howard
Beach Motor Club for allowing us to
use their facility for this altered event,
Frank Russo for providing the veteran’s
free to-go meals, and to all of our military
Courtesy of Addabbo’s offi ce
men and women for their service,”
Addabbo said. “I encourage all veterans
to call my offi ce to register for this event
so they can come to get acknowledged
and honored.”
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