Following a Freedom of Information appeal by WNYC/Gothamist, the Staten Island District Attorney released thousands of letters containing disclosures about police witnesses.
The letters are written by attorneys at the District Attorney's office in preparation for trials. These attorneys are, by law, compelled to identify personnel information regarding police witnesses to defense attorneys.
The letters document over 800 misconduct findings that have not been made public before.
Now, Gothamist/WNYC is making a slice of those misconduct findings available to the public.
Gothamist/WNYC broke the findings into three groups based on penalties that the misconduct would receive under the NYPD's own punishment guidelines.
The first group is of misconduct findings that the department punishes most seriously. It includes lying, driving under the influence and off-duty misconduct.
One officer was suspended for violations in all three categories, only to earn a promotion to sergeant two years after.
The second, intermediary group is for Departmental Rules Violations, a broad category that includes violations such as incidents of racial profiling, or failure to activate a body-worn camera. Discipline for these offenses is sometimes sent up to the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) and sometimes kicked down to an officer's supervisor.
The Staten Island Files identify 8 instances in which officers failed to activate body-worn cameras. At most, they received a minor punishment known as a Schedule A Command Discipline, in some cases after multiple offenses.
The last were for minor violations that get handled within a police precinct by a supervising officer. These can include anything from misusing a department computer to bad paperwork.
Excessive Force
DWI.
Lying
Firearms
Domestic Violence
Off-Duty
FADO
Just 18 of these misconduct findings resulted in heavy penalties such as suspensions, transfers, disciplinary monitoring or dismissal probation.
