August 26, 2020
Mayor Bill de Blasio
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Re: Publication of DOC Corrections Officer Misconduct Records Following Section 50-a Repeal
Dear Mayor de Blasio,
As civil and human rights organizations, community-based groups, public defenders and others across the state, we celebrated the repeal of New York Civil Rights Law Section 50-a. This repeal was a critical step in lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding the institutionalized violence against Black, brown, and other marginalized people by the criminal legal system. It brings New York in line with the 48 other states that do not keep such records secret. It will also provide incarcerated people and their advocates and allies basic access to a fundamental tool to seek redress for injustices perpetrated against them and provide the community with a tool for change. This is why we welcomed the recent announcement that your administration would make disciplinary records and allegations of misconduct for corrections officers employed by New York City’s Department of Correction (“DOC”) publicly available online.
We urge you to make good on this commitment to transparency by immediately directing DOC to create and maintain a database of correctional officer misconduct and disciplinary records online, freely available to the public, by September 15, 2020. This database must include all “law enforcement disciplinary records” as defined by the amended Public Officer’s Law as well as information about lawsuits relating to DOC staff misconduct within city jails and must be updated every month with all qualifying documents.
The overwhelming vote to repeal 50-a, which occurred in the wake of the protests of George Floyd’s murder, is a public mandate to bring to light not only the misconduct and disciplinary histories of the police, but also of DOC officers who carry out similar patterns of institutionalized violence. The impunity for this culture of unjust violence in New York City jails rests on secrecy. Accountability starts with public access to the information about the injustices perpetrated in DOC facilities.
Brutality against incarcerated people at the hands of DOC officers has been rampant for many years. As you are aware, DOC is subject to a consent judgment in the case Nunez v. City of New York, requiring DOC to overhaul its practices in order to reduce the unconstitutional levels of violence in city jails. The Ninth Report of the Independent Monitor in that case found that, as of May 2020, DOC has continuously failed to comply with core requirements of the Consent Judgment. After five years, DOC has still not implemented effective systems for investigating violent misconduct by staff, supervising staff to prevent such misconduct, or imposing appropriate discipline.
These failures noted by the report mean that DOC is plagued by an “entrench[ed]” culture of “hyper-confrontational” and “aggressive” conduct, in which “multiple levels of uniform leadership” allow violent misconduct to “flourish, unchecked.” In spite of the judgment, the “frequency of unnecessary and excessive force has not shown a marked decrease” in half a decade. Simply put, DOC has failed to hold itself accountable. Change at DOC requires public scrutiny.
The repeal of 50-a was necessary but not sufficient to hold law enforcement accountable. To ensure misconduct records do not continue to be shielded by the denials and delays that plague Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, it is critical that you affirmatively publish disciplinary records and allegations of misconduct of DOC officers.
Signed,
- Amnesty International USA
- Anti Torture Initiative Project
- Appellate Advocates
- Asociación de Mujeres Progresistas Inc.
- Black and Pink NYC
- Black Lives Matter (BLM) Hudson Valley
- Bronx Climate Justice North
- The Bronx Defenders
- Brooklyn Defender Services
- Buffalo Mutual Aid Network
- Call BlackLine
- Center for Community Alternatives
- Center for Law and Justice
- Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at New York University School of Law
- Citizen Action of New York
- Citizen Action WNY
- Close Rosie's
- Color Of Change
- Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
- Congregation Beth Elohim Dismantling Racism Team
- Correctional Association
- Emergency Release Fund
- Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition, Inc.
- Exodus Transitional Community
- Housing Works
- Human Rights Watch
- Humanists of Long Island
- The Gathering for Justice
- Immigrant Defense Project
- Incarcerated Nation Network,inc
- Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
- John Brown Lives!
- John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity
- Judson Memorial Church
- Justice for Families
- Justice League NYC
- LatinoJustice PRLDEF
- The Legal Aid Society
- The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
- #LetMyPeopleGoNow! Campaign
- LIFE Progressive Services Group Inc
- Long Island Council of Churches, Public Issues Committee
- Long Island Progressive Coalition
- Make the Road NY
- Manhasset Quaker Monthly Meeting
- The MAN Program
- Monroe County Public Defender’s Office
- Muslim Peace Fellowship
- National Action Network - Nassau County Chapter
- National Action Network - NYC Chapter Second Chance Committee
- National Association for Mental Illness (NAMI) - Huntington
- National Association for Mental Illness (NAMI) - NYS Criminal Justice
- Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
- New Hour for Women and Children - LI
- New York City Jericho Movement
- New York Civil Liberties Union
- New York Immigration Coalition
- New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault
- North Bronx Racial Justice
- NYCAIC #HALTsolitary Campaign
- Parole Preparation Project
- Partnership for the Public Good
- Presbytery of New York City
- Prison Action Network
- Prison Families Anonymous
- Prison Writes
- Public Interest Resource Center, Fordham Law School
- Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign
- The Riverside Church
- Riverside Edgecombe Neighborhood Association (RENA)
- ROC/ACTS
- Rockland Prison Justice Project
- Rural and Migrant Ministry
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ NYC)
- Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood Office of Peace and Justice
- Solitary Watch
- Students for a Sensible Drug Policy - Buffalo
- Transforming LIves
- Turning Points Resource Center
- United Voices of Cortland
- Uptown Progressive Action
- Urban Justice Center
- Vera House, Inc.
- VOCAL-NY
- Wayne Action for Racial Equality
- WESPAC Foundation
- Westchester for Change
- Western New York Campaign Against Isolated Confinement
- Western New York Law Center
- Women & Justice Project
- Worth Rises
- Youth Represent