New York poised to lift veil on police disciplinary files

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As protesters of police brutality demand accountability, New York lawmakers are poised to overhaul a decades-old law that has kept officers’ disciplinary records secret.

The state law, known by its section title, 50-a, was passed in the 1970s to prevent criminal defense attorneys from subjecting officers to harassing cross-examinations about irrelevant information in their personnel file. The law applies to jail guards and firefighters, as well.

But over the years, the law has draped a veil over most records of police misconduct, including allegations. Formal complaints about excessive force by officers are not public in New York. In recent years, police departments have cited the law in refusing to say even whether officers have been punished.

The Democrat-led Legislature planned to pass a repeal Monday as part of several bills that would also ban officers from subduing people with chokeholds and enshrine in state law an executive order giving the attorney general the power to investigate certain types of police misconduct.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he intends to sign the bills, arguing that police officers deserve the same level of scrutiny as other government employees, such as teachers and toll takers, who he said face the release of complaint letters. The governor didn’t say when he would sign the bills.

“Their records will be available,” Cuomo said. “It is just parity and equality with every other public employee.”

The legislation is expected to easily pass in the largely Democratic Legislature, despite opposition from police unions. The leaders of a coalition of police unions argued in a statement Monday that releasing such records, including complaints, could leave officers facing “unavoidable and irreparable harm...