NYCLU v. Buffalo Police Department

The New York Civil Liberties Union, with pro bono counsel from Shearman & Sterling LLP, filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Police Department for unlawfully denying the NYCLU’s requests for the full slate of records related to police misconduct authorized to be disclosed following the repeal of 50-a.

NYCLU submitted a FOIL request seeking a large array of public records specifically authorized to be disclosed under state FOIL after the repeal of 50-a, a statute of the state civil rights code that had been used for years to bar the disclosure of police misconduct. The Buffalo Police Department has responded to the request, which sought a wide array of disclosable documents related to disciplinary records, use of force, stops, civilian complaints, policies, investigative reports, diversity, trainings, and collective bargaining agreements, by providing one single file.