March 19, 2024 / By mobanmarket
NEW YORK CITY— Cops who repeatedly stepped over the thin blue line not only put city taxpayers millions of dollars in the red, but remain active with the NYPD, according to a new analysis.
Two lists released by The Legal Aid Society Tuesday show what officers amassed the highest lawsuit payouts and were named as defendants in the most civil rights lawsuits.
Payouts linked to the costliest NYPD officers cost taxpayers nearly $65 million between in the decade start in January 2013, the analysis found.
Another set of cops were named in a combined 291 civil lawsuits during the same period.
“Yet many of these officers are still allowed to wear a badge and carry a gun,” said Jennvine Wong, staff attorney with the Cop Accountability Project at The Legal Aid Society, in a stattemetn.
“Moreover, despite these allegations, many have attained ranks of sergeant or above.”
NYPD and city law department representatives didn’t return Patch’s request for comment.
The analysis comes after Legal Aid advocates found that NYPD misconduct lawsuits for 2023 cost nearly $115 million.
The sum is the second-highest annual payout total since 2018, according to that study.
Altogether, lawsuits accused NYPD cops of misconduct have cost $548 million since 2018, the analysis found.
Cases included a $3.7 million payout for a man who wrongfully spent two years behind bars after NYPD drug cops fabricated evidence against him.
“So long as NYPD leadership continues to allow problematic officers to rise through the ranks and refuses to address the Department’s culture of impunity, our clients – the majority of whom are from Black and Latinx communities – will continue to shoulder the consequences and the general public’s trust of the NYPD will remain fractured,” Wong said.
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