NYC Council bill would require watchdog to probe claims of NYPD lying in court
Anew bill introduced Thursday in the City Council would require the city’s Department of Investigation to maintain a referral system for complaints about NYPD officers lying in court as well as mandate that the agency probe such complaints.
The bill, which was introduced by Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) at the legislative body’s full meeting, would require DOI to substantiate whether complaints are valid, and if so, to conduct a further investigation and publish a report of its findings.
“There is widespread documentation of officers giving false or misleading testimony, withholding exculpatory evidence, intimidating witnesses — all to justify unjust arrests and secure convictions that can only be described as wrongful,” Restler said Thursday. “Prosecutors have been left to their own devices, maintaining their own lists of police officers who can not be trusted in a court of law. We must step up to do our part to root out this rot in our justice system and we must go further — we must actually hold officers accountable when they engage in evidentiary misconduct.”
New York City Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) speaks at a rally on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, April 21, 2022. (Shawn Inglima/)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/nyc-council-bill-would-require-watchdog-to-probe-claims-of-nypd-lying-in-court/ar-AAWXMgB