Court Ruling Reaffirms CCRB Investigative Power over Misconduct Investigations 

NEW YORK CITY – Following a lawsuit filed by the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) against the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the New York State Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the CCRB has jurisdiction to investigate the improper use of body-worn cameras by NYPD officers. In response, the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed an amicus brief in support of the CCRB, issued the following statement, from Senior Staff Attorney Lupe Aguirre.  

“We are pleased that the courts have once again rejected the PBA’s attempt to thwart police accountability and undermine the CCRB’s independent investigations into police abuse.  

“Body-worn cameras can help oversight agencies to be less reliant on the often one-sided and misleading portrayals provided by the police during misconduct investigations. This ruling will make it harder for officers to keep investigators and New Yorkers in the dark about police misconduct during civilian encounters.   

“Just this week, a court-ordered report condemned the NYPD’s failure to hold officers accountable for unconstitutional street stops – further proof that the NYPD cannot be trusted to police itself. The Department’s culture of impunity inspires little confidence that it will thoroughly investigate body-worn camera misuse and hold officers accountable for violations. As the Adams Administration continues to work to undermine the CCRB, we will keep pushing to strengthen police oversight.”    

You can find case materials here: https://www.nyclu.org/court-cases/police-benevolent-association-et-al-v-ccrb-et-al