Police Unions Lose Bid to Keep Disciplinary Records a Secret

“Today’s ruling does not end our fight to protect our members’ safety and due process rights,” he said.

The order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling and addressed complaints raised by the unions, including the fear that the disclosures could heighten the risks for police officers.

“We fully and unequivocally respect the dangers and risks police officers face every day,” the panel said. “But we cannot say that the District Court abused its discretion when it determined that the unions have not sufficiently demonstrated that those dangers and risks are likely to increase because of the city’s planned disclosures.”

The court said many other states had made police misconduct records at least partially available to the public “without any evidence of a resulting increase of danger to police officers.”

The court also rejected the union’s argument that officers’ future job prospects could be harmed if allegations against them that proved to be unfounded or unsubstantiated were disclosed. The court noted that although numerous other states also make such records available publicly, “the unions have pointed to no evidence from any jurisdiction that the availability of such records resulted in harm to employment opportunities.”

“Today’s ruling confirms the obvious: The unions’ arguments were inconsistent with the law and the will of New Yorkers,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which had filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the records’ release.

While Mr. de Blasio praised the ruling Tuesday, his administration has drawn criticism in the past for using an expansive interpretation of the 50-a provision to fend off efforts to obtain the disciplinary records of Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold on Staten Island.