Repeal 50-A

For immediate release:

April 13, 2021

New York City Police Unions Give Up on Failed Attempts to Roll Back #Repeal50a and Block Release of Misconduct and Discipline Records

Win for Communities United for Police Reform: Litigation will be dismissed and prior temporary injunction to be lifted

New York, NY - Today, the New York City police, corrections, and fire unions finally threw in the towel on a lawsuit to block the release of officer misconduct and disciplinary records following the repeal of 50-a—they have agreed to dismiss the action in its entirety and with prejudice. Earlier this year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied the New York City police unions’ attempt to block public release of the majority of officer misconduct and discipline records and recognized that Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) could challenge the district court’s remaining limited injunction over certain records. Now, with the police unions’ case expected to be officially dismissed by Judge Failla, all injunctive relief will be dissolved and the NYPD and City can no longer point to this litigation as an excuse to hide police misconduct records.

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March 8, 2021

CPR Slams Release of NYPD Database That Continues to Hide the Majority of Officer Misconduct and Discipline

Today, the NYPD released a dashboard that includes limited NYPD officer misconduct and discipline and continues to conceal critical information that can be made public under the repeal of 50-a. The database, the contents of which include only information about incidents where the NYPD commissioner has imposed a final guilty finding in administrative charges, does not include what is believed to be the vast majority of misconduct and discipline records, including for racial and other discriminatory profiling, most police sexual abuse and other misconduct by NYPD officers.

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March 3, 2021

Second Circuit Court Lifts Stay, Last Obstacle in Release of Police Misconduct and Discipline Records Cleared

Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals once again cleared the way for NYPD officer misconduct and discipline records to be released to the public, as per the repeal of 50-a last year, by clarifying that their February 16th decision includes lifting

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February 16, 2021

WIN: Second Circuit Affirms District Court Decision, Police Misconduct And Disciplinary Records Must Be Disclosed

Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied the New York City police unions’ (along with corrections and fire unions’) attempt to stop the City of New York from releasing officer misconduct and discipline records to the public following the June 2020 repeal of the police secrecy law 50-a, by the New York State Legislature.

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NYPD Fights to Keep Eyes Off Discipline Records

After a federal judge dismissed most of their bid for a preliminary injunction blocking the release of records, NYPD and fire unions are appealing.

01/19/2021

Courthouse News

MANHATTAN (CN) — Former New York City Police Department officers and firefighters who say Mayor Bill de Blasio put them in harm’s way by unsealing discipline records advanced their claims to the Second Circuit on Tuesday.

In June of last year, the state repealed a rule that limited public access, except by court order, to the personnel performance records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers.

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January 19, 2021

Oral Arguments Conclude In Second Circuit On Police Unions’ Latest Attempt To Block Release Of Police Misconduct Records

Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case brought by New York City police unions (along with corrections and fire unions) to stop the City of New York from releasing officer misconduct and discipline records to the public following the June 2020 repeal of the police secrecy law 50-a, by the New York State Legislature.

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Tri-State Area Police Unions Fight to Keep Disciplinary Records Private

Lawsuits try to block states’ new laws and policies to increase transparency

10/12/2020

Wall Street Journal

Police unions in the tri-state region are fighting to block new measures that would give the public access to law-enforcement discipline records, which have long been confidential.

Lawmakers and officials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut enacted new policing disclosure laws and policies in recent months, amid nationwide protests calling for greater accountability. Advocates who support such changes say police officers entrusted to use lethal force should be subject to greater transparency and held responsible for misconduct.

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September 17, 2020

Court Allows “Very Temporary” Stay of Publication of NYPD Misconduct Records

In response to today’s ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeal panel of judges that temporarily blocks New York City’s publication of NYPD officer disciplinary records, Communities United for Police Reform, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP issued the following

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August 25, 2020

Court Rules Communities United for Police Reform May Intervene in NYPD Misconduct Database Case

Group That Led #Repeal50a Campaign to Enter Police Unions’ Lawsuit Aimed at Rolling Back 50-a Repeal and Re-Entrenching Police Secrecy

August 25, 2020, New York – Today, a federal court ruled that Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, may intervene in a lawsuit brought by five New York City police unions, as well as corrections and firefighter unions, that seeks to block the City from publishing officer misconduct and discipline information and roll back the historic repeal of N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 50-a. The unions sued the City in July, after the New York State legislature repealed 50-a, a law that had shielded the records from the public, and the de Blasio administration announced plans to release a searchable NYPD misconduct database. Also last Friday, the court denied the unions’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking release of the records during the duration of the litigation.

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More than 300,000 NYPD officer complaints over 35 years released in new database

08/20/2020

AM NY

Over 300,000 complaints about New York Police Department officer misconduct have been released due to a new database from the New York Civil Liberties Union published Thursday.

The 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.

The database contains information about 323,911 complaints dating back to 1985 concerning 81,550 different officers. That’s an average of 923 complaints a year.

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