Focus, people

It’s no secret the NYPD wields extraordinary control over its internal disciplinary process. Police commissioners have the final say on whether officers are punished for wrongdoing, and even the outside Civilian Complaint Review Board lacks the automatic right to access body camera video that’s critical to proving or disproving allegations.

Can the police really police themselves? Officer disciplinary records obtained by ProPublica raise serious doubts. The records show that officers found guilty of misconduct after a CCRB investigation substantiates complaints against them are punished lightly, if at all. And the department too often withholds evidence from investigators that would corroborate allegations or exonerate officers accused of misconduct.

The NYPD has yet to fully follow through on an agreement inked eight months ago, when they pledged to stop stalling in handing over body camera images to CCRB investigators, who’ve found the recordings are essential to getting to the bottom of complaints.

Extraordinary delays persist. Presently, NYPD officers have yet to respond to roughly 900 camera video requests.

If the NYPD can’t make good on its pledge to speed up requests to deliver objective evidence to investigators, it must grant a small number of CCRB investigators secure access to the recordings.

For CCRB investigations, which are constrained by an 18-month statute of limitations, justice delayed means justice denied, for both civilians and the police sworn to protect them.

Unseen body camera video does nothing for transparency. Hand it over.