Rule broken in Muslim probes

THE NYPD routinely broke rules in investigations of Muslim groups, including failing to explain its use of undercovers and informants, the department’s inspector general charged Tuesday.

In terror probes as far back as 2004, the department has repeatedly failed to get permission to continue investigations of Islamic groups, Inspector General Philip Eure found.

Under the terms of a 1985 lawsuit settlement, the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau must spell out why it’s opening, then extending probes of political activity.

The IG examined a sample of all closed cases between 2010 and 2015, some of which were opened as far back as 2004.

More than 95% of the individuals under investigation in these cases were “associated with Muslims and/or engaged in political activity that those individuals associated with Islam.”

Eure found the NYPD failed half the time to provide by required deadlines justification for continuing them.

Eure is one of multiple inspectors general under the umbrella of the city Department of Investigation. DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said his report “demonstrates a failure by NYPD to follow rules governing the timing and authorizations of surveillance of political activity.”

Peters noted Eure “found no evidence of improper motives” by the NYPD, which is regulated in its investigation of political activity by a 1985 court settlement known as the Handschu agreement.

Lawrence Byrne, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for legal matters, said, “We’re not going to break the law to enforce the law. We take our Handschu responsibilities very, very seriously. There was not violation of any law here.”

Of particular note was the finding that in all the cases, the NYPD failed to spell out the role of undercovers and informants or explain why they were necessary. Cops included “no factual information” in this regard, instead using the same boilerplate language — including the same typos — in every application.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the report “provided yet more evidence that the NYPD’s surveillance of American Muslims was highly irregular . . . and violated even the weaker rules that existed before our proposed settlement.”