Graham Rayman
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The NYPD has ordered cops with internal charges for domestic violence to receive 24 weeks of counseling as part of a series of fixes to the disciplinary system, police officials said Monday.
Police officers found to be involved in misconduct related to domestic violence will now be placed on dismissal probation, meaning they could be fired on the spot if they are caught doing it again. If they are convicted, they would face automatic firing.
The announcement from Police Commissioner James O’Neill was part of a 60-day status report that followed the findings of the three-member panel which conducted a review of how the NYPD disciplines cops.
“If we build trust in the agency, then particularly that means we’re treating our officers fairly,” First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker said. “The way they are treated will benefit the public out on the streets doing their job.”
The department also said it will continue to lobby Albany to change section 50-a of the state Civil Rights Law so it allows them greater latitude in releasing disciplinary outcomes. In recent years City Hall and the NYPD have argued that 50-a as it’s written bars the release of cop disciplinary records — but that the law should be changed. Civil rights advocates disagree with how City Hall and the NYPD interpret the existing law, and say such records can legally be made public now.
The NYPD plans to reduce its use of 50-a as a justification for refusing to turn over body camera footage, arrest reports and routine police reports through the state Freedom of Information Law.
In 2018, the Daily News published a series on problems in the NYPD’s disciplinary system. The reports prompted the NYPD to create the review panel.
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