NYPD Got 2,500 Police Bias Complaints, Proved None: Probe

NEW YORK — The NYPD has backed up none of the thousands of complaints it has received about alleged racism and other bias among New York City cops, a city investigation has found.

The Police Department received at least 2,495 complaints about biased policing from 2014, when it started investigating them, to the end of last year — but not a single one has been substantiated, according to a report the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD released Wednesday.

The complaints generally accuse cops of taking or failing to take an action, such as making an arrest, because of someone's race, gender, sexual orientation or other protected status, officials say. But the NYPD doesn't investigate cases of cops using racial slurs or other offensive language as biased policing, the probe found.

The lack of proven complaints "stands out" as the NYPD has proven itself capable of investigating and substantiating other kinds of police misconduct, the report says.

"Biased policing, actual or perceived, undermines the core value of equal treatment under the law and also poses a threat to public safety because racial profiling and other types of biased policing undermine the public's confidence and trust in law enforcement," Inspector General Philip K. Eure said in a statement. "NYPD must ensure that these complaints are thoroughly investigated and tracked."

The inspector general's office examined a sample of 888 biased policing complaints filed between late 2014 and early 2017. More than two thirds — 68 percent — of them accused cops of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color or national origin, the report says. Black people filed about 66 percent of those allegations, according to the report.

The NYPD determined nearly two thirds, or 569, of the reviewed complaints were "unfounded," meaning investigators concluded the alleged misconduct did not happen or was not committed by cops, the report says.

Another 297 complaints were found to be "unsubstantiated," meaning investigators could not clearly determine whether the misbehavior occurred, the report says. Cops were exonerated in 17 cases, and five others were closed without enough evidence to determine what happened, according to the report.

The inspector general's office found holes in how the NYPD investigates biased policing. The probe found evidence of cops misclassifying bias complaints and failing to conduct interviews with officers and complainants involved, the report says.

And some police charged with investigating the complaints were not trained on how to do so before they were assigned cases, even though the Internal Affairs Bureau offers a training course a few times a year, according to the report.

The inspector general's office issued 23 recommendations, including that the NYPD classify cops' use of racial slurs as biased policing. The Civilian Complaint Review Board should also probe biased policing allegations instead of sending them to the Internal Affairs Bureau, as is common in other big cities, the report says.

But the NYPD says it has substantiated 49 claims of cops using slurs, more than any major city. Complaints about biased policing are also declining, according to the Police Department — the Internal Affairs Bureau had received 220 this year as of May 31, down about 33 percent from 329 in the same period in 2018.

"The NYPD understands that constitutional, biased-free policing is foundational to building community trust and keeping New York City even safer," the Police Department said in a statement. "The NYPD is committed to addressing misconduct in any form, and has created comprehensive policies and procedures to prevent, investigate, discipline, and monitor any and all instances of biased policing."

The inspector general did not identify any allegations that should have been substantiated based on the evidence available, which underscores "the difficulty in proving these allegations," the NYPD said.

But the department said it will continue to work with other agencies to improve how it addresses bias in line with many of the inspector general's recommendations.

"The NYPD has initiated a number of significant changes over the past five years to create greater trust, build mutual respect, and strengthen coordination between the police and neighborhoods we serve — and that essential work continues," the department said.

While the Civilian Complaint Review Board examines motives in its probes of police misconduct, the oversight agency would need more resources and staff to handle more types of profiling allegations, board Chair Fred Davie said.

"Without this, the CCRB would be forced to unsubstantiate all but the most obvious allegations of profiling," Davie said in a statement.