Substantiated Civilian Complaints Against Uniform Members

RCNY tit. 38, ch. 15, subch. B

in effect

38 RCNY § 15-11 Definitions.

§ 15-11 Definitions. Chair. "Chair" means the Chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. Charges and Specifications. "Charges and Specifications" means a written accusation or accusations of misconduct against a uniform member of the Department, specifying the activity or conduct at issue, along with the date, time and place of occurrence. Civilian Complaint Review Board. "Civilian Complaint Review Board" or "CCRB" means the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. Department. "Department" means the New York City Police Department. Department Advocate. "Department Advocate" or "DAO" means the Department Advocate or Assistant Advocates of the New York City Police Department. Deputy Commissioner of Trials. "Deputy Commissioner of Trials" means the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Deputy Commissioners in charge of New York City Police Department disciplinary hearings. Executive Director. "Executive Director" means the Executive Director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. FADO. "FADO" means allegations of excessive force, abuse of authority, discourtesy or offensive language contained in civilian complaints falling within the jurisdiction of the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Police Commissioner. "Police Commissioner" or "Commissioner" means the Police Commissioner of the City of New York.

38 RCNY § 15-12 Prosecution of Charges and Specifications.

§ 15-12 Prosecution of Charges and Specifications. (a) Upon substantiation by the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) of one or more FADO allegations contained in a civilian complaint against a uniformed member of the NYPD, CCRB shall notify the Police Commissioner of the substantiation and CCRB's disciplinary recommendation. Subject to the provisions of subdivision (b) of this section, civilian complaints found to be substantiated by the CCRB in which CCRB has recommended that Charges and Specifications be preferred shall be prosecuted by the CCRB pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed on April 2, 2012 by the CCRB and the Department during the period that such MOU is applicable. (b) In those limited circumstances where the Commissioner determines that CCRB's prosecution of Charges and Specifications in a substantiated case would be detrimental to the Department's disciplinary process, the Commissioner shall notify CCRB of this determination. These instances shall be limited to cases in which 1) there are parallel or related criminal investigations, or 2) when, in the case of an officer with no disciplinary history or prior substantiated CCRB complaints, and based on such officer's record and disciplinary history, the interests of justice would not be served. Any request by the Commissioner for the CCRB to refrain from prosecution of Charges and Specifications in accordance with this section shall be made in writing to the CCRB, include a detailed explanation for such request and a statement detailing what discipline if any the Police Commissioner would pursue on such uniformed officer. The CCRB may reject such request to refrain from prosecution within five business days of receipt of such request. Such rejection shall be made in writing and include a statement rebutting the Commissioner's explanation for his or her request. The Commissioner may deny such rejection within five business days of receipt of such rejection. Such denial shall be made in writing to CCRB and include a detailed response to CCRB's rebuttal. Upon receipt of such denial the CCRB shall refrain from further prosecution of the case.

38 RCNY § 15-13 Expedited Cases.

§ 15-13 Expedited Cases. Upon receipt of notification that a complaint has been found to be substantiated by the CCRB accompanied by a recommendation that Charges and Specifications be preferred, the DAO shall inquire as to whether the nature of the substantiated allegation and the status of the subject officer requires expedited prosecution of the substantiated case. In such cases, or in similar cases where the need for such expedited prosecution arises while the prosecution is pending, the DAO shall advise CCRB's Chair and Executive Director of the need for expedited prosecution. CCRB shall make every reasonable effort to conclude the prosecution within the required time frame. If CCRB determines that it will not be able to conclude the prosecution within the required time frame, CCRB will decline to prosecute the case and request that the DAO undertake the prosecution of such case.

38 RCNY § 15-14 Other Misconduct.

§ 15-14 Other Misconduct. If during the course of its prosecution of a substantiated civilian complaint, CCRB becomes aware of possible misconduct falling outside its FADO jurisdiction (such as the making of a false statement), which is alleged to have been committed by the subject officer, CCRB shall immediately refer the allegation of such other misconduct to NYPD for investigation. CCRB shall not itself undertake the prosecution of such other misconduct. CCRB shall provide assistance to NYPD as requested for purposes of investigation or prosecution of the alleged misconduct. If necessary, CCRB and the Department Advocate shall coordinate their prosecutions of such related cases.

38 RCNY § 15-15 Assistance by Department and Application of Department Procedures and Disciplinary Policies.

§ 15-15 Assistance by Department and Application of Department Procedures and Disciplinary Policies. CCRB personnel conducting administrative prosecutions pursuant to the MOU executed on April 2, 2012 shall familiarize themselves with and apply Department disciplinary policies and standards to the extent practicable and relevant. Attorneys and support staff shall be trained in all aspects of Department procedures and policies as they affect such administrative prosecution, including the provisions of Subchapter A of this Chapter. The Department shall provide all reasonable assistance requested by CCRB in the creation of a unit of attorneys and support staff responsible for conducting administrative prosecutions, including training and guidance in both legal and administrative matters. During the course of its administrative prosecution, CCRB's prosecutorial staff may contact the DAO to request the assistance of Department personnel as needed to effectively evaluate, prepare, and prosecute the case. The DAO shall arrange for Department personnel to provide reasonable assistance to CCRB.

38 RCNY § 15-16 Conclusion of Administrative Prosecution.

§ 15-16 Conclusion of Administrative Prosecution. At the conclusion of the administrative prosecution, in all instances other than cases culminating in a report and recommendation by the Deputy Commissioner of Trials, the CCRB shall forward to the Commissioner a final recommendation reflecting the results of its prosecution of the case. The CCRB shall include all relevant forms, memoranda and background information to assist the Commissioner in making a final disciplinary determination. If the case culminated in a hearing before the Deputy Commissioner of Trials, the provisions of Subchapter A of this Chapter shall apply, subject to the provisions of 38 RCNY § 15-19.

38 RCNY § 15-17 Police Commissioner's Determination.

§ 15-17 Police Commissioner's Determination. (a) In all instances other than cases culminating in a report and recommendation by the Deputy Commissioner of Trials, upon receiving the final recommendation of CCRB with accompanying documents, the Commissioner may accept, reject, or modify the recommendation presented, or may ask CCRB for additional investigative or background information in its possession. He or she may also request further investigation or development of the record in the case to enable him or her to make a final determination in the case. If CCRB's recommendation is rejected or modified, CCRB will then be responsible for taking any appropriate follow-up action, such as proceeding with prosecution of the subject officer, engaging in additional investigation, or further developing the record in the case. (b) The Department shall notify CCRB of the final disciplinary result and specific penalty in each case within thirty calendar days of the Commissioner's final determination.

38 RCNY § 15-18 Correspondence Following Final Determination of Substantiated Civilian Complaints.

§ 15-18 Correspondence Following Final Determination of Substantiated Civilian Complaints. In any case substantiated by the CCRB in which the Police Commissioner intends to impose discipline that is of a lower level than that recommended by CCRB or by the Deputy Commissioner of Trials, the Commissioner shall notify the CCRB, with notice to the subject officer, at least ten business days prior to the imposition of such discipline. Such notification shall be in writing and include a detailed explanation of the reasons for deviating from CCRB's recommendation including but not limited to each factor the Commissioner considered in making his or her decision. The CCRB and the subject officer may respond to such a notification within five business days of its receipt, after which the Commissioner shall make a final determination.

38 RCNY § 15-19 Confidentiality.

§ 15-19 Confidentiality. (a) Documents or verbal information provided to CCRB by the Department or created by CCRB pursuant to the MOU executed on April 2, 2012 shall be considered confidential to the extent provided by New York State Civil Rights Law § 50-a or any other applicable law. CCRB shall not disclose any such document or verbal information to any person, organization or agency without first notifying the Department's Deputy Commissioner, Legal Matters and providing the Deputy Commissioner, Legal Matters a reasonable opportunity to review the proposed disclosure. This restriction on disclosure shall not apply to disclosures to the Deputy Commissioner of Trials, DAO, or the Department's Internal Affairs Bureau. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, the CCRB and Department may also exchange information pursuant to subdivision (b) of 38 RCNY § 15-12 and 38 RCNY § 15-18 to the extent that the disclosure of such information does not tend to reveal the identity of a party or witness involved in the investigation or prosecution of the substantiated civilian complaint which is the subject matter of the correspondence.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-78206Fetched: 10/24/2026