As Bratton Exits, Continued Reports Show Bratton Leaves Legacy of Alleged Abuses, Corruption, Misconduct & Excessive Force; Inaction Shows Failure to Address Police Accountability

On Bratton’s final day at the NYPD touting his legacy of leaving the city with one of the safest summers, media reports from throughout the summer solidify his legacy leaving intact and perpetuating police abuses, brutality, misconduct and failed accountability at the NYPD. The summer suffered no shortage of media reports highlighting the variety of issues that continue to afflict New Yorkers, and the de Blasio administration and NYPD have undertaken no effort to address the systemic accountability problems that allow such issues to continue at the expense of New Yorkers. 

The systemic failure to take action against officers who kill and brutalize continues. None of the officers who killed Ramarley Graham over four years ago have been disciplined or fired. Mayor de Blasio said the city was waiting for the Department of Justice to conclude its investigation, which occurred in March 2016 – afterwards, the mayor said the city would move the process expeditiously. Over 6 months later, there has been no action.

The most definitive action the de Blasio administration has taken regarding NYPD abuses, brutality, misconduct and accountability was to enact its own new interpretation of state law – unlike several past administrations – to conceal officers’ disciplinary and misconduct information from the public.

June 1 – NYPD Cracks Down on Marijuana Possession in NYC, Sees Big Uptick in Arrests for Carrying Pot (New York Daily News)

June 2 – Muslims Who Think NYPD Targeted Them Aren’t Entitled to Know If Cops Have Files on Them (New York Daily News)

June 3 – NYPD Faces Class-Action Lawsuit over Civil Forfeitures from People Arrested and Later Released (New York Daily News)

June 5 – Infamous NYPD Sergeant Points Gun at Man Recording Her, Then Busts into Apartment and Arrests Him (New York Daily News)

June 6 – Off-Duty NYPD Cop Drags 71-Year-Old Neighbor Out of Elevator, Punches Her after Argument (New York Daily News)

June 7 – City Councilman Accuses NYPD of ‘Secret Rule’ That Allows Cops to Use Banned Chokehold (New York Daily News)

June 7 – CCRB Report Shows Police Use Tasers Too Often (New York Daily News)

June 8 – NYPD Cop Found Hanged Amid Investigation of 13-Year-Old Girl’s Sex Assault Identified (New York Daily News)

June 11 – Off-Duty NYPD Cop Arrested for Refusing DUI Test (New York Daily News)

June 14 – Off-Duty NYPD Sergeant Probed for Pulling Gun in Fender-Bender Confrontation (New York Daily News)

June 15 – Off-Duty NYPD Traffic Agent Wanted for Groping Woman Twice in Brooklyn Arrested (New York Daily News)

June 16 – Under Media Spotlight, City Locates Missing Records of NYPD Political Meddling (The Village Voice)

June 16 – NYPD Accused of Arresting Man for Recording Video of Cops Cuffing Woman (New York Daily News)

June 17 – SI Man Says NYPD Cops Beat Him, Called Him Homophobic Slurs (PIX 11)

June 19 – Criminalizing Poverty: Homeless in Harlem Complain of NYPD Harassment (Salon)

June 22 – NYPD Cops Did Nothing While Man Died from Asthma Attack (New York Daily News)

June 22 – So Much for Bratton’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Approach to NYPD Corruption (New York Post)

June 23 – NYPD Cop Convicted of Molesting Young Girl after Caught on Tape Admitting to the Crime (New York Daily News)

June 23 – The Racist NYPD Captain Who Ruined My Career for Not Targeting Enough Blacks and Hispanics Got Promoted (New York Daily News)

June 23 – NYPD Officers Searched Queens Karaoke Club without a Warrant, Video Shows (DNAinfo)

June 25 – Corruption Case Casts Harsh Light on NYPD Handgun Permits (Associated Press)

June 26 – Off-Duty NYPD Sergeant Busted for DWI in Staten Island Car Crash (New York Daily News)

June 26 – Uber Driver Sues NYPD Detective Caught on Video Berating & Harassing Him (Gothamist)

June 27 – Gay, Black Man Who Claimed He was Attacked by Jewish Security Patrol Gang Sues City (New York Daily News)

June 27 – Off-Duty NYPD Detective Arrested for Driving Drunk near Brooklyn College (New York Daily News)

June 29 – NYPD Officials Busted in Corruption Investigation Took ‘Substantial Bribes’ from de Blasio Fund-Raiser (New York Daily News)

June 29 - De Blasio Fights to Keep NYPD Abuse Records from the Public (Salon)

June 30 - NYPD Detective Files Bias, Retaliation Complaint Over Alleged Quotas (NBC New York)

June 30 – Majority of LGBTQ Victims of Harassment by NYPD are Black, Hispanic (DNAinfo)

July 4 - City Pays Man $75G in Lawsuit over NYPD Officer Using N-word Slur in Bogus Arrest (NY Daily News)

July 5 - NYPD under Bratton Gives Light Penalty in Bloomberg-era Killing of Mohamed Bah, (NY Daily News)

July 5 - Cops Allegedly Attacked, Called Pregnant Woman ‘Fat Bastard’ at Traffic Stop in Staten Island, New Suit Charges (NY Daily News)

July 5 - Off-Duty NYPD Cop Shoots Man Dead after Alleged Road Rage Attack in Brooklyn; State Attorney General will Probe (NY Daily News)

July 5 - Black & Hispanic LGBTQ Communities at Heightened Risk of NYPD Abuse, Report Finds (Gothamist)

July 6 - Lawsuit Seeks to Curb NYPD’s ‘Widespread Practice and Custom’ of Interfering with People Recording Cops (NY Daily News)

July 6 - Video: Activist Sues City after Cops Arrest Him for Filming Them (Gothamist)

July 11 – NYPD Officer Kills Civilian in “Road Rage” Shooting (CBS News)

July 12 – Queens NYPD Cop Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting Young Boys on Skype (New York Daily News)

July 12 – Grope Suit against Alleged NYPD Perv Detective Can Proceed, Judge Rules (New York Daily News)

July 13 – Here’s Audio of What Sounds Like an NYPD Captain Pressuring an Officer to Target Black Men (Gawker)

July 13 – Lawyer for NYPD Official Accused of Taking Bribes Says Client Can Claim Ignorance of the Law (New York Daily News)

July 13 – NYPD Detectives Shoot, Kill Pit Bull (New York Daily News)

July 15 – Drunk Cop’s Shooting Frenzy Could Land NYPD Bosses with Lawsuit for Tolerating Trainee’s Alcoholism (New York Daily News)

July 16 – Off-Duty Police Officer Faces Manslaughter Charge after SUV Kills 1, Injures 3 (Newsday)

July 19 – Cops Who Partied with Rookie in Deadly Crash Placed on Modified Duty (New York Post)

July 27 – New York Police Embracing a Weapon They Have a Complicated Past With: Tasers (The New York Times)

July 28 – NYPD Detective on Staten Island Posts Racist Rants on Facebook (New York Daily News)

July 28 – NYPD School Safety Agent Suspended after She Tried Covering for Brother Who Beat Elderly Man into Coma (New York Daily News)

July 31 – Bronx Assemblyman Files Complaint Against the Police (The New York Times)

July 31 – Sketchy Bronx Cops Never Reported Sin City Strip Club Christmas Shooting (New York Daily News)

August 1 – Arrested for Picking a Flower, And Other Broken Windows Policing Horror Stories (Gothamist)

August 2 – Homeless People, Advocates Protest NYPD Harassment (New York Daily News)

August 5 – Feds: NYPD Cop Who Torched Range Rover for Insurance Money Shouldn’t Get Bail Because He Attacked Dates (New York Daily News)

August 5 – Lawsuit Seeks Info on What the NYPD Does with the Millions in Cash It Seizes from People Every Year (Gothamist)

August 7 – NYPD Detective Who Posted Racist Diatribes on Facebook Shot Unarmed Black Man in Back (New York Daily News)

August 8 – Racist Facebook-Ranting NYPD Cop was Drinking When He Hit Pregnant Woman’s Car (New York Daily News)

August 9 – The NYPD’s Civil Forfeiture System Has Taken Millions from Low-Income New Yorkers (The Village Voice)

August 10 – NYPD Cop Nicknamed “Huggy Bear” Busted Down 65-Year-Old Brooklyn Woman’s Door, Manhandled Her (New York Daily News)

August 10 – NYPD SVU Cop Accused of Groping Rape Victim Blames His Supervisor (New York Daily News)

August 10 – After the NYPD Opened Fired on an Unarmed, Mentally Ill Man in Times Square, Who Gets the Blame? (The Village Voice)

August 12 – NYPD Officer Seen Punching Suspect Pinned to Ground (DNAinfo)

August 16 – Report Shows Racial Disparities in City Arrest Reduction Efforts (New York Post)

August 17 – Queens Karaoke Clubs Targeted by Cops in Bribery Scandal Sue NYPD for $300M over Lost Business (New York Daily News) 

August 17 – Cop Suspended after Friends Get into Fight Leading to Stabbing in Manhattan (New York Daily News)

August 18 – Off-Duty Police Officer Allegedly Didn’t ID Himself or Offer to Help Victim Viciously Beaten (New York Daily News)

August 18 – Former NYPD Sergeant Accused of Tossing Semen at Female Co-Worker Claims DNA Test Proves It was Saliva (New York Daily News)

August 23 – NYC Lawyers Argue That Cops Can Arrest Anyone If You Stop to Talk with Protesters (New York Daily News)

August 23 – NYPD to Probe Claims Cops Ignored Assault of Gay Man (New York Post)

August 23 – Wasted Cop Found Passed Out with Loaded Gun Outside Arena (New York Post)

August 23 – NYPD Routinely Violates Handschu Guidelines, IG Report Says (Newsday)

August 24 – NYPD Suddenly Stops Sharing Records on Cop Discipline in Move Watchdogs Slam As Anti-Transparency (New York Daily News)

August 24 – NYPD Trashed My Backyard and Pool during Hunt for Officer’s Killer: Lawsuit (DNAinfo)

August 24 – NYPD’s Muslim Surveillance Violated Regulations As Recently As 2015: Report (The Guardian)

August 24 – City Blames Hurricane Sandy for Missing NYPD File That Kept Two Innocent Men behind Bars for 22 Years (New York Daily News)

August 26 – Black 15-Year-Old was Unarmed and Surrendering When Cops Shot at Him 16 Times in Brooklyn (New York Daily News)

August 26 – Flatbush Activists Want to Know Where the NYPD is Stopping Brooklyn Drivers (Patch)

August 29 – Staten Island Man Pummeled by NYPD Cop during Asthma Attack Files $6M Suit (New York Daily News)

August 30 – Bratton Defends NYPD’s Move to Stop Sharing Cops’ Disciplinary Records (New York Daily News)

August 31 – Outgoing Commissioner Bratton Says NYPD Won’t Reveal Any Actions against Cop Who Choked Eric Garner (New York Daily News)

September 1 – Immigrant Advocacy Group Files Amicus Brief in NYPD Discrimination Lawsuit (Politico New York)

September 3 – Bar Patron: A Cop Broke My Jaw and the NYPD Deep Sixed the Investigation (Gothamist)

September 9 – Sister of Bronx Bodega Worker Killed by Police Slams NYPD (New York Daily News)

September 12 – Records Show Increased Earnings for Officer Involved in Garner Death (Politico New York)

September 14 – NYPD Cops on ‘Modified Duty’ after Corruption, Brutality Cases are Raking in Cash Thank to Overtime (New York Daily News)

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About Communities United for Police Reform - Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment. CPR brings together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those unfairly targeted the most by the NYPD. CPR is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.