NYPD to standardize its penalties for misconduct
A cop should be fired if if they kill or seriously injure a suspect with a chokehold, or wrongly use deadly physical force — even if the person doesn’t die, according to a set of NYPD-proposed guidelines to standardize punishment for police misconduct.
The guidelines, required by a new city law, are what lawmakers call a “disciplinary matrix” to make the NYPD’s internal discipline rules less secretive and arbitrary. The Daily News has obtained a draft copy; it’s expected to be released for public comment Monday.
“The NYPD’s lack of a standard disciplinary system has long built mistrust between the department and the communities they serve,” said City Council member Donovan Richards, who chairs the public safety committee and championed the law requiring the matrix.
“The disciplinary framework released today by the NYPD is a major step in ensuring the department holds officer accountable for misconduct in a fair and consistent manner.”
The NYPD Commissioner would still have the final say over how penalties are doled out, and the guidelines list factors that might mitigate an officer’s misconduct — or make it more egregious.
So-called “white shirt immunity,” which means supervisors get a pass for offenses other cops would be punished for, would end under the new system. In fact, supervisors should be hit with harsher penalties, the guidelines state.
“Supervisors are expected to lead by example and they are responsible for holding their subordinates accountable,” the proposal reads. “The Department has higher expectations for supervisors, including their ability to exercise sound judgment and to be more deliberate in their actions than subordinate members.”
A seven-month investigation by the News last year showed the NYPD was wildly inconsistent in how it punishes errant cops, and offenses against the public were punished with slaps on the wrists, while protocol violations resulted in heavier punishment.
After reviewing 162 official NYPD disciplinary dispositions between December 2017 and March 2019, The News revealed most cops found guilty in departmental proceedings of false arrest, assault or discourtesy toward people they meet on the street had to give up fewer than 15 vacation days.
Thirty-one of the cases reviewed involved the public, but stricter penalties of 16 vacation days or more were imposed in only a third of them and only two cops were put on dismissal probation, the last stop before being fired.
In the remaining 131 cases, cops accused of interdepartment offenses that had nothing to do with the public, or misbehavior while off-duty, were hit with more severe punishments. Forty-five officers lost up to 25 vacation days, while another 55 cops were put on dismissal probation and ordered to give up 30 or more days.
The process enraged both criminal justice advocates, who felt offenses against the public resulted in no more than a slap on the wrist, and rank-and-file cops, who bemoaned how some officers got minor penalties for major mistakes like losing their guns, while others were raked over the coals for lateness.
The NYPD created a panel to review the disciplinary process in 2018, after a series of News articles highlighted the helter-skelter way the department punished misconduct. The disciplinary matrix was one of the panel’s recommendations.
The 52-page proposal lists suggested penalties for different types of misconduct and criminal activities.
Intentionally making a false statement should result in firing, as should failing to intervene when a fellow officer kills someone by wrongly using deadly physical force. Refusing to get medical assistance for someone who’s visibly injured should cost a cop 20 vacation or suspension days.
A first-offense domestic-violence incident should result in 30 lost days, dismissal probation, and 24 weeks counseling, while a second offense or a criminal conviction should result in firing.
Drunken driving, meanwhile, should lead to 30 days suspension, another 20 penalty days, dismissal probation and counseling.