In a massive defeat for police unions, many police
discipline records across New York state can be made public.
This ruling was made by a judge in the Second U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals. It rejected a claim from New York City's police union that
the state's new transparency law would negatively impact the reputations of
police officers, endanger them and affect any future jobs.
Attorney Fred Brewington, one of the founders of Long
Islanders for Police Accountability, says the ruling means the public will have
transparency and accountability when it comes to officers' conduct.
"In this situation, transparency leads to a level of
accountability,” he told News 12. “…Now we have the ability for there to be
appropriate public inspection of those records, for the purposes of not dealing
with causing harm, but making sure there's clear information about situations
that won't lead to a George Floyd. We found that that officer had multiple
civilian complaints, nothing had been done about them."
Lou Civello, the second vice president of the Suffolk
Police Benevolent Association, says the ruling was made over the almost
universal objection of law enforcement.
"There is tremendous harm, not only to the officers,
but really to society as a whole by this ill-conceived law," he says.
He added that making information more accessible puts
officers and their families in danger.
The next step for this decision would be an appeal to the
Supreme Court of the United States.
A spokesperson for the New York Law Enforcement Labor
Coalition said the unions who sued will be reviewing all options.