QUESTION
What steps are being taken to address the increase in police misconduct settlements in NYC?
2:22:37
·
6 min
The law department communicates with the police department to address issues of police misconduct and make necessary tweaks on an ongoing basis.
- The law department engages in communication with the police department to address trends in police misconduct settlements.
- Conversations between the departments are protected by attorney-client privilege.
- Adjustments are made based on these discussions to address issues of police misconduct.
- The law department highlights the importance of ongoing conversations with the police department to address these issues.
Lincoln Restler
2:22:37
First is NYPD settlements.
2:22:40
Recent analysis by the legal aid society found that in 23, the city paid out $114,600,000 in lawsuit allegations, in lawsuits alleging police misconduct.
2:22:52
Since 2018, these lawsuits have caused the city $548,000,000, not including any matters settled prior to litigation.
2:23:01
The median payout has increased during that same time from $10,000 in 2018 to $25,000 last year, two and a half times increase.
2:23:11
The PMR also revealed a major uptick in civilian complaints against the police under mayor Adams' tenure, up 60% from just last year.
2:23:20
Right?
2:23:21
We're seeing dramatically more enforcement, dramatically more incarceration, and not surprisingly, dramatically more complaints against police misconduct.
2:23:28
We can only assume that the uptick in police misconduct complaints will result in even more litigation than what we're already seeing and even greater settlement payouts.
2:23:36
So what steps has the law department taken to ensure that officers that are generating these repeated lawsuits are properly disciplined and that there's real accountability for the bad actors that are wasting that are mistreating New Yorkers and wasting taxpayer dollars.
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:23:52
So you're real good.
2:23:54
True fun.
2:23:56
When it is that we see trends in multiple cases or see something notable in even one case.
2:24:07
We have communications with the police department about how those issues might be remedied.
2:24:15
So that that's what we do.
2:24:16
On an ongoing basis,
Lincoln Restler
2:24:17
And is that having any impact or effect?
2:24:19
Can you show any results from those informal conversations?
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:24:23
Well, certainly, the conversations would be attorney client privilege.
2:24:29
And so
Lincoln Restler
2:24:30
That's right.
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:24:30
To the extent that there there are tweaks, you know, telling you that this was tweaked because there was a problem with probably reveal things that we would not be permitted to reveal.
2:24:40
But I do know that Because of those ongoing conversations, there are tweaks that are made and changes and
Lincoln Restler
2:24:50
and appreciate that you've been having those conversations.
2:24:52
It sounds like that's the longstanding law department policy.
2:24:55
And yet, things are moving in a pretty extraordinary direction.
2:24:59
We paid over a half a $1,000,000,000 in city taxpayer money to settle these allegations of police misconduct $114,000,000 last year, what are we doing to reverse this trend?
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:25:12
So one thing I I I like to highlight about what is included in the police misconduct settlements, and that is a number of verse conviction cases where individuals were incarcerated for some 30 years.
2:25:33
Right.
2:25:34
And those the settlement of those cases in order to provide a measure of just this to those individuals, amounts to large numbers.
2:25:46
Yeah.
2:25:46
And and and the and it draw it those alone would drive up the average settlement if you are paying an individual 10,000,000 $12,000,000, $15,000,000.
2:26:01
And there are several of those cases within the past few years as are very highest district attorneys have had a view to conviction integrity.
Lincoln Restler
2:26:13
And we certainly celebrate that prioritization on conviction review units, conviction integrity units.
2:26:21
Accordingly, could you provide the total payouts based on the year of the misconduct to us in writing over the last few years so that we could see that breakdown and actually understand what's coming from you know, Luc Castello from the eighties nineties and what's actually happening as a result of police misconduct today?
2:26:43
Yes.
2:26:44
I'll take it I'll take a yes.
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:26:46
Well, I'll I'll take a yes.
2:26:47
But it's it's a it's
Michael J.Ryan
2:26:48
a yes.
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:26:48
It's a yes, comma, because I I I want to highlight for you that, you know, in any given year, there there may be a 1000 such settlements.
2:27:03
So we may have to group them such that, you know, yeah, without without something that's MINEUTIA THAT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY.
2:27:13
YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO THINK OF A WAY THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
2:27:17
And yet is meaningful.
Lincoln Restler
2:27:22
We would be happy to follow-up with a written request.
2:27:25
For the information in a way that is more readily where you can respond more readily.
2:27:30
We're not trying to overwhelm you with a data request here, but it would be helpful to see the broad strokes of what's happening from eighties nineties, convictions being overturned, and what's happening from police misconduct today.
2:27:41
I do hope that the law department will consider additional actions that you all can take to rein in police misconduct to slow down the amount of settlement reduce the amount of settlements that we're paying out.
Judge Sylvia Hinds-Radix
2:27:52
No.
2:27:53
Not to beat.
2:27:53
Not to beat a dead horse.
2:27:56
Council member.
2:27:57
But that would that's also one of the reasons why we are we've we've implemented this risk management unit to to evaluate those types of things.
2:28:08
To look at, to make sure that there's discussion with the agencies of specific things that we see that that are caused that are driving this.
2:28:18
And so
Lincoln Restler
2:28:20
I totally appreciate that and appreciate that focus.
2:28:25
But, you know, the PMMR showed a 60% increase year over year in CCRB complaints.
2:28:30
That's a big number.
2:28:31
We already had more CCRB complaints if I remember this correctly in the first quarter, in the 1st 4 months of this year than we did 4 years ago over the whole year.