Dept. fails to ID problem officers: DOI

The NYPD fails to use the wealth of information available from legal filings against its cops to help identify those who need stricter scrutiny, according to a report from the city Department of Investigation.

The report said that three precincts — the 120th on Staten Island, the Midtown South in Manhattan and the 103rd in Queens — had steep spikes in suits and notices of claim filed over excessive force, false arrests and denial of rights between 2013 and 2016.

“Further analysis may identify problems and ar- eas for improvement in policy, training and supervision,” NYPD Inspector General Philip Eure wrote.

The April report also accused the NYPD of withholding “certain information” from the DOI “on the basis of legal privilege” and refusing to make de- partmental lawyers available for interviews.

A footnote said the DOI planned to negotiate for access to the information but “will take appropriate legal action” if necessary.

In a blistering response last month, the NYPD defended its internal-review process, saying that information obtained by “simply reviewing a notice of claim or complaint on its face has little probative value.”

“The NYPD’s evidencebased approach to remedial action makes far more sense than simply analyzing litigation volume on the basis of geographic incident location,” the department said.

The NYPD also said it complied with the DOI probe “to the extent possible,” including handing over “more than a hundred pages of sensitive information.”