After years of harassment and after the rash of police killings of unarmed black Americans over the past few years, the Biden Administration is expected to introduce legislation to deal with the disturbing number of "bad apples" in law enforcement and with reforming the police culture itself. He'll face heavy pushback from the usual suspects, especially police unions who have thrown in their lot with right-wing "law and order" Republicans, even as Republicans cut local budgets for public services. However, based on the record of the police commissioner in New York City, the Biden Administration may need to start with the top public executives, as ProPublica reports:
"The chair of New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board is calling for a fundamental shift in how NYPD officers are disciplined for abuse of civilians.
The Rev. Fred Davie, who has led the board since April 2018, said last week the police commissioner should no longer be the final arbiter of discipline in cases investigated by the CCRB. [snip]
As ProPublica has detailed, NYPD commissioners have used their authority to overturn not only the CCRB’s recommendations for punishments but also rulings by department hearing officers (often referred to internally as judges) and even guilty pleas agreed to by police officers. Officers have also been promoted to senior positions in the NYPD despite lengthy records of civilian complaints alleging misconduct." (our emphasis)
The article goes on to note that under New York City's current police commissioner, Dermot Shea, there has been a lack of cooperation with the CCRB in providing records and reports for disciplinary adjudication.
When police feel protected not only by their "code of silence" regarding their misconduct, but by the management officials who are supposed to be representing the public, it's no wonder that a number of them abuse their authority and engage in unlawful actions, especially against communities of color who lack influence. A report from the FBI earlier this year that police departments are being infiltrated by white supremacists just adds to the toxic situation.
In New York City's case, the New York City Council is working on legislation that would remove the absolute power for discipline from the commissioner and reassign it. When an institution becomes its own judge, jury and executioner, it welcomes corruption and abuse, and then protects it.
