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An examination of public records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests revealed that nearly 13,000 legal cases brought against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) resulting in settlements or monetary awards over the past decade were not publicly disclosed, despite legal requirements to do so. Some analysts suggest that the NYPD’s failure to be transparent about these cases could contribute to police misconduct.
Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence contends that by concealing information about judgments and payouts, the NYPD avoids consequences and is able to portray itself more favorably to the general public.
How do you forget to log more than half, nearly 13,000 lawsuits filed against you? If you cannot do your job, or do it without getting sued to the nth degree, how can we the people determine whether we should keep you in that job? It’s evident that the NYPD does not want New York City people to know about the mounting costs of police misconduct, and that even with a $5.8 billion budget, the NYPD struggles are not just a few bad apples.
But things are not getting better. New Yorkers deserve transparency just as much as they deserve public servants who protect and serve within the bounds of the law. There has to the consequences for the NYPD intentionally failing to disclose to the public the more than $1.2 billion in settlements and monetary awards that it paid with city [tax]payer’s funds. Hearings must be held, heads should roll from top to bottom, budgets should be cut to reflect the true cost.
The NYPD only acts up to this point because they are not actually facing any consequences for their failure to report a 10-figure payout. If we want legal compliance from law enforcement, there must be literal consequences attached. The transparency is just the first step to sanitizing corruption. Actual accountability must come next.
