NYPD Disciplinary Records Now Online And Available To The Public, But Some Say The Database Doesn't Post All Information Needed
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - After a recent appeals court decision, some disciplinary records of New York City police officers have been released online and are searchable by anyone.
Some argue the database doesn't post all the information owed to the public.
As of Monday, you can search NYPD officer records online. Just type in the officer's name to see disciplinary history, a training summary and awards, among other categories. To do so, CLICK HERE.
"When they have a police officer and they respond and they want to know, you know, get a sense of who that person is, now they have a way to do it," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of Police Executive Research Forum, an independent, nonprofit police think tank in Washington, D.C
"This goes a long way. There's not many departments that have taken on this," Wexler said.
But New York Civil Liberties Union Director Donna Lieberman says it doesn't go far enough since it only shows matters that resulted in a guilty finding by the police commissioner.
"It's giving kind of half-truths," she said.
LINKS: NYPD's Officer Profile Lookup | CCRB's Member Of Service Archives
Gainer looked up NYPD Officer David Afanador, who was arrested and charged after an incident in which he allegedly used an apparent chokehold on a man in October. He was suspended without pay and is now on modified duty pending the investigation outcome. If you search his name to see his past disciplinary record, it shows two charges from 2014.
To compare, last Friday the Civilian Complaint Review Board released its records. It shows eight CCRB complaints dating back to 2009 for Afanador, though only one was substantiated, and in some cases he was exonerated.
"Do you want to see these other complaints even if the officer was exonerated? Is that fair?" Gainer asked.
"Yeah, you know I think if somebody's exonerated, that tells you something, and the police department should want that out there," Leiberman said.
She says that's not even the full picture.
"There's a host of disciplinary records that are only in the hands of the NYPD, because not everybody goes to the CCRB when they have a complaint against an officer," Leiberman said.
"There's an argument to be made for the officers. If you have a complaint that's frivolous, you know, I think that doesn't necessarily rise to the same occasion as something where someone has been investigated and it's proven that they were responsible," Wexler said.
The NYPD says its dashboard "links to outside agencies including the CCRB and the city's Law Department where information outside the scope of what the police department provides can be accessed."
The NYPD says the database includes cases dating back to 2014, but will add more in time.
