NYPD Officers Facing Floyd Protest Discipline Had Prior Red Flags

NEW YORK CITY — They conducted wrongful stop-and-frisks. They abused their authority in searches. They used offensive language about disabilities.

And when New Yorkers took to the streets last year chanting "George Floyd" and "No justice, no peace," those NYPD officers faced even more substantiated complaints of misconduct.

Of 39 officers the Civilian Complaint Review Board recently recommended for discipline over their actions in the George Floyd protests, 17 previously faced scrutiny for misconduct accusations, according to a Patch review of records.

Seven of those prior complaints were substantiated, records show.

"Now we’re able to see so many of these cases involved officers who should have raised a red flag for department officials and clearly have not," said Michael Sisitzky, senior policy counsel with the NYCLU.

A flood of complaints

The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officers sparked mass protests across New York City in May and June 2020.

Early demonstrations were unruly — protesters set fires to police vehicles, smashed windows, sprayed graffiti or looted stores. But the chaos gave way to weeks of largely peaceful protests.

NYPD officers, meanwhile, faced criticism throughout the events for their heavy-handed tactics. A later Department of Investigations report found police heightened tensions and failed to respect peaceful demonstrations.

And a trail of misconduct complaints also followed NYPD officers as they were spotted shoving, pepper spraying and otherwise violently acting against protesters, often in incidents caught on video.

In total, the CCRB heard from 750 people about their interactions with police, according to the board.

Members winnowed those to 303 official complaints containing more than 2,000 accusations covering more than 460 officers.

But investigations into those complaints have been slowed by long waits for records, outright stonewalling by police unions and trouble identifying officers because they covered up their badges, Sisitzky said.

The CCRB's recommended discipline against 39 officers released last week is likely only the first batch — 147 investigations remain open.

"The current substantiation rate in fully-investigated protest complaints is 35%," the CCRB report states.

Past problems

A Patch review of those 39 officers facing discipline revealed a handful had long histories of complaints against them.

One is Officer Stephen Patti, who is stationed in the 7th Precinct covering the Lower East Side.

A review of CCRB records shows he faced eight total complaints. One of those involved an accusation he used a chokehold, according to records. That complaint isn't listed as substantiated; rather it's categorized as "closed - pending litigation."

Only one complaint against Patti is listed as substantiated, records show. The CCRB recommended discipline against him for "abuse of history" during the protests.

Another officer — Brian Mahon, a narcotics cop — also had eight total complaints, records show. Two of those relating to stops and frisks in 2018 were found to be substantiated, for which he received training and the lowest form of command discipline.

A third substantiated complaint stemmed from the Floyd protests, where CCRB members found he wrongly used his nightstick as a club.

Overall, 44 percent of the 39 officers facing discipline for their actions in the Floyd protests faced prior complaints.

That's actually lower than the 61 percent of current NYPD officers who have received one CCRB complaint.

But, of those 39 officers, 15 percent had a substantiated misconduct complaint from before the protests, data shows. That's higher than the 9 percent of current NYPD officers who have one substantiated misconduct complaint against them.

"I think it shows what we’ve suspected all along that the NYPD doesn’t take discipline seriously for officers who engage in misconduct,” Sisitzky, the NYCLU lawyer, said.

NYPD spokesperson Edward Riley, in response to Patch questions, highlighted the recent adoption of a discipline matrix.

“There is no other city agency that levies penalties or holds their employees more accountable than the NYPD,” Riley said in a statement. “Our new discipline matrix created guidelines and documented logic with a range of penalties. The matrix demonstrates to both officers and the public that the NYPD is consistent in how it addresses discipline. In addition, it is important to note that a CCRB complaint, when made, is an allegation of misconduct and it can be determined to be unproven or unfounded. It is not uncommon for highly active officers to receive complaints, especially when they are active in crime fighting.”

'Just the start'

Despite widespread criticism, independent investigations, mea culpas and promises of reform, the NYPD keeps coming under fire for officers' actions against protesters.

Cops recently pepper-sprayed, dragged and arrested people in a Pride celebration near Washington Square Park.

The clash and ensuing wave of denunciations prompted WNYC's Brian Lehrer on Friday to ask Mayor Bill de Blasio whether the mayor's legacy will be defined by NYPD misconduct.

"You came in ending Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk and are going to go out repeatedly having to explain police misconduct," Lehrer said.

"No, I don't," de Blasio said. "I mean, respectfully, I just disagree with that characterization. I came in ending stop-and-frisk. I went out empowering the Civilian Complaint Review Board, created the discipline matrix, which has revolutionized the approach to police discipline that made it much more transparent, passing a series of major reforms with the City Council in March."

De Blasio said the city will learn from its mistakes — and, indeed, many reforms he outlined could potentially make it easier to discipline cops.

But Sisitzky is adopting a wait-and-see approach. He noted that Commissioner Dermot Shea ultimately has the final say in discipline decisions.

Shea has said he will make public any discipline findings that are at odds with CCRB recommendations.

"We’re encouraged to see these cases move forward, but this is just the start,” Sisitzky said.

Patch writer Sarah Belle Lin contributed to this report.