LONG ARM OF THE LAW

65 NYPD Cops Guilty of Misconduct During BLM Protests, Watchdog Says

The Civilian Complain Review Board said 34 percent of complaints made against officers could not be fully investigated “due to an inability to identify officers.”

The oversight agency for the NYPD has ruled that 65 officers should be disciplined for aggressive policing tactics and misconduct during the height of last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. Some New Yorkers who interacted with the force while protesting the murder of George Floyd came away with fractured eye sockets, broken bones, concussions, and nerve damage. In a Monday statement, the Civilian Complaint Review Board announced it was recommending the “highest level of discipline” against 37 officers. The officers, if found guilty in an upcoming “administrative trial run,” could face the loss of vacation days, suspension, or termination. The CCRB also recommended “less severe” punishment for an additional 28 officers.

Out of 313 complaints made related to the protests, the agency has so far looked into more than a hundred cases, CCRB Chair Fred Davie said. It had previously recommended discipline for 39 officers in June this year. The number of total offenders may be higher, but the CCRB was unable to substantiate more than a third of complaints after failing to identify who the officers in question were. A substantial number of them were accused of covering their shield numbers during the protests last summer, a move that critics said allowed the force to act with impunity.