Judge Blocks New York City from Releasing FF, Police Records
By Jon Campbell
Source Observer-Dispatch, Utica, N.Y.
ALBANY, NY—A state judge temporarily blocked New York City from releasing many police disciplinary records Wednesday as part of a union lawsuit that could have significant statewide ramifications.
A handful of police and fire unions filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to stop New York City from posting a public database of documents detailing disciplinary decisions and pending complaints against officers and firefighters.
The city had been planning on posting the pending complaints as soon as this month after New York state repealed a law in June that kept the records private for years.
But State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead issued a temporary stay Wednesday preventing the city from publicly posting unsubstantiated or non-final documents while the lawsuit is transferred to federal court.
The lawsuit, filed by the city Police Benevolent Association and seven other unions, will be watched closely by police agencies statewide, which have received numerous requests for disciplinary records since Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers repealed the privacy law known as 50-a in June.
The suit argues the release of unproven allegations of misconduct would violate officers' constitutional right to due process.
"Unproven accusations destroy careers and lives," Sheinkopf said in a statement Wednesday. "We stopped de Blasio from doing this today."
The New York City Law Department issued a statement Wednesday saying the lawsuit has "no merit" and the city will "defend against the claims in federal court," according to the New York Post, which first reported the lawsuit and stay.
Cuomo and lawmakers repealed the 50-a law in June amid the protests caused by the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Minneapolis who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Edmead's stay will stay in effect until the U.S. District Court decides whether to issue an interim stay after New York City asked for the case to be transferred to federal court.
The order temporarily prevents the city from "publicly disclosing any records concerning Unsubstantiated and Non-Final Allegations or settlement agreements as defined ... entered into prior to June 12, 2020," according to Edmead's ruling.
Within a day of the order, at least one other police agency pointed to the order in response to a request for documents.
On Thursday, the city of New Rochelle in Westchester County cited Edmead's ruling as it declined to release the employment records of Alec McKenna, an officer who fatally shot 24-year-old Kamal Flowers after a brief chase June 5.
New Rochelle is within the Southern District of New York in the federal court system, where the lawsuit is being transferred.
Police say Flowers displayed a firearm and a 9mm handgun was discovered at the scene. Flowers' friends and family have been pushing for a full investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.
Includes reporting by The Journal News staff writer Jonathan Bandler.
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