Behind the Badge

New York’s Hidden Police Misconduct Files

Department by department, we’re making New York’s hidden law enforcement disciplinary histories public.

Police disciplinary files are created after a department determines that one of their officers committed some sort of misconduct. This means that the department investigated a complaint and found it to be substantiated — in some cases, it also means that some sort of disciplinary action was taken against the officer.

New York has around 510 law enforcement agencies. As of October 2024, we’ve currently obtained 27,000 pages of files for 290 of these agencies.

These files were not always available to the public. Up until the repeal of section 50-a of New York’s Civil Rights Law in June 2020, these files were largely protected from disclosure. Even after this repeal, many police agencies have fought to keep these files hidden. We’ve employed a novel records requesting process combining local district attorney’s office files with police department and city, town, county and state offices.

PROJECT UPDATES

The Troop F Files — October 2024

For our first major records release, we’re making public around 800 pages of lower-level disciplinary files related to over 600 officers in the New York State Police. Many of these files are related to Troop F, one of the State Police’s ten troops — all of these files were obtained in just one of the hundreds of requests we’ve filed with various district attorney’s offices.

These files contain a summary of the misconduct incident, a description of the punishment that was handed down and a review of the policy that was violated.

The lower-level disciplinary files we’re releasing are called Letters of Censure. They involve misconduct that Troop Commanders determine can be handled at the Troop level. Basically, if the trooper or employee agrees to waive union representation, the case can be handled more informally, with the punishment already capped at around a week of suspension at most and a punishment handed down after just one hearing with the Troop Commander.

How to Read a Letter of Censure

Heading

The letter heading often contains information about the Troop that the employee served in at the time of misconduct, the date that the letter was issued and the State Police Superintendent and specific Troop Commander at the time. In some instances, like in this letter, a DCN (Department Complaint Number) is also provided.

Trooper/Employee

The full name of the Trooper or employee is always found at the top of the letter, along with the address of the specific station (sometimes called an "SP") within the larger Troop where the employee is stationed.

Appearance

To resolve a disciplinary proceeding through the State Police’s more informal Troop Level disciplinary process, a Trooper must appear before their Troop Commander for a disciplinary hearing. This process is easier for all parties involved: The Trooper knows that they cannot receive more than a few days of suspension; the Troop Commander can resolve the disciplinary proceeding without waiting for a formal internal investigation.

Description of Incident and Policies Violated

The body of the letter usually contains a short narrative description of the misconduct incident, details about the specific misconduct and references to specific New York State Police policies that were violated in the incident. In some instances, such as this letter, language is also included about the employee’s punishment.

Note About the Future

In many instances, particularly in letters about car crashes, troop commanders will include a note saying that they trust this was a “learning experience” or that they trust someone will “exercise due care in the future.”

CCs

In some instances, files contain details about the other New York State Police units — in this case, the Division Headquarters, the Uniform Lieutenant and the State Police’s personnel files — that will receive a copy of this letter.