The NYPD Files
Investigating America’s Largest Police Force
ProPublica reporters uncover abuse and impunity inside the NYPD, using confidential documents and insider interviews, giving the public unprecedented access to civilian complaints against officers.
Featured
It Wasn’t the First Time the NYPD Killed Someone in Crisis. For Kawaski Trawick, It Only Took 112 Seconds.
Trawick was alone in his apartment when an officer pushed open the door. He was holding a bread knife and a stick. “Why are you in my home?” he asked. He never got an answer.
The NYPD Files: Search Thousands of Civilian Complaints Against New York City Police Officers
After New York state repealed a law that kept NYPD disciplinary records secret, ProPublica obtained data from the civilian board that investigates complaints about police behavior. Use this database to search thousands of allegations.
Other Entries
Still Can’t Breathe
How NYPD officers continue to use chokeholds — which can be deadly and are explicitly prohibited by the department — on civilians, while officers with substantiated claims of abuse go without any meaningful punishment.
New York City Paid an NBA Star Millions After an NYPD Officer Broke His Leg. The Officer Paid Little Price.
“When are people going to be held accountable?” asked NBA guard Thabo Sefolosha. A ProPublica review found New York has paid more than $1 billion in recent years to settle suits against officers, who are rarely punished.
“Nobody” Hurt, “Just a Perp,” Say Officers After NYPD Shot and Killed Man in His Own Home
The comments were captured in body-worn camera footage the NYPD recently disclosed, 20 months after Kawaski Trawick was shot in his apartment while holding a bread knife.
Calls Increase for NYPD Commissioner to Be Stripped of Absolute Authority Over Officer Discipline
Recently released documents show that NYPD commissioners have used their authority to reject the civilian review board’s recommendations and even guilty pleas from officers themselves.
New York Lawmakers Demand NYPD Halt Undercover Sex Trade Stings
A dozen city and state officials also called for the disbandment of vice, the primary division that polices the sex trade; some want investigations into misconduct allegations against the unit, including withholding of evidence.
What It Looks Like When the New York City Police Commissioner Has “Unchecked Power” Over Officer Discipline
While a civilian board can prosecute misconduct cases involving NYPD officers, the police commissioner has the final word. Frequently, that power is used to reduce penalties.
NYPD Cops Cash In on Sex Trade Arrests With Little Evidence, While Black and Brown New Yorkers Pay the Price
Some NYPD officers who police the sex trade, driven by overtime pay, go undercover to round up as many “bodies” as they can with little evidence. Almost no one they arrest is white.
The NYPD Said the Killing of Kawaski Trawick “Appears to Be Justified.” Video Shows Officers Escalated the Situation.
Footage shows the killing of the 32-year-old Black man in his home by a white officer — over the objections of his Black, more-experienced partner. Both officers are still on duty.
Over a Dozen Black and Latino Men Accused a Cop of Humiliating, Invasive Strip Searches. The NYPD Kept Promoting Him.
The men said Assistant Chief Christopher McCormack touched them inappropriately during searches or ordered others to do so. Eighty-six NYPD leaders have at least one credible misconduct allegation on file. McCormack has the most.
The NYPD Is Withholding Evidence From Investigations Into Police Abuse
The NYPD has regularly failed to turn over key records and videos to police abuse investigators at New York’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. “This just seems like contempt,” said the now-retired judge who ordered the NYPD to use body cameras.
The Complaint Files NYPD Unions Don’t Want You to See
ProPublica partner THE CITY has exclusively obtained more than 250 civilian reports alleging police abuses, from bullying to brutality. Read details from some of the records law enforcement groups are waging a court battle to keep confidential.
Your Questions About the New York City Police Complaint Data, Answered
We’ve tackled a few of the most common questions from the public and journalists, including what data we received and what we did and didn’t publish.
We’re Publishing Thousands of Police Discipline Records That New York Kept Secret for Decades
ProPublica obtained these police records from New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board. NYPD unions are suing to halt the city from making the data public.
The NYPD Isn’t Giving Critical Bodycam Footage to Officials Investigating Alleged Abuse
New York’s Civilian Complaint Review Board made 212 requests for body-worn camera footage in May. The NYPD sent only 33 responses, according to a memo obtained by ProPublica.
Has the NYPD Stopped a Teen You Know? Are You a Young Person With a Story to Share? We’d Like to Hear From You.
If you are a young person or know a young person who has encountered the police, we’d like to hear your story.
My Family Saw a Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween. Then I Learned How NYPD Impunity Works.
ProPublica Deputy Managing Editor Eric Umansky’s family saw an unmarked NYPD cruiser hit a Black teenager. He tried to find out how it happened, and instead found all of the ways the NYPD is shielded from accountability.
