CITY’S CASE TO HIDE INFO ON COP SLAPS
A LAWYER FOR the city said in a letter to an appellate judge that the law prevents information about cops’ disciplinary histories from being made public — regardless of how the NYPD used to do business. Aaron Bloom said “a government agency cannot be (prevented) from carrying out the law’s mandates, regardless of any past error or misinterpretations.” The NYPD in 2016 stopped releasing summaries of disciplinary actions taken against cops, reversing 40 years of practice. It said its legal bureau had unwittingly been violating Section 50-a of the 1976 state civil rights law. But the Legal Aid Society, which is fighting for the disclosure of such information, has disagreed. It cited a Daily News article in which Raymond Kelly said that when he was police commissioner, the legal bureau prevented him from keeping that information secret. That proves that the legal bureau knew what was going on — and that it ruled correctly in deciding to keep that information public, Legal A id said. The appellate panel is expected to make a decision in the case in the coming weeks.