In the decade between 2013 and 2023, 10 NYPD members accounted for more than $68 million in misconduct payouts, according to a new report by the Legal Aid Society. All of them are still on the public payroll, according to the analysis and police records.
Earlier this summer, the Legal Aid Society analyzed police misconduct payouts to show that the NYPD had already paid $50.5 million in the first half of 2023 alone.
Now the public defender group has analyzed 10 years worth of data to highlight two types of officers: The ones with the most legal settlements against them and the ones whose settlements have cost the city the most money.
“Collectively, these active members of the NYPD have garnered hundreds of lawsuits, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in cases raising shocking allegations of misconduct, yet they are still allowed to wear a badge and carry a gun. It is also deeply concerning that many have attained ranks of sergeant or above,” Jennvine Wong, staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, said in a statement.
The president of Police Benevolent Association said lawsuits are not a reliable measure of whether officers are doing their jobs.
“Lawsuits are frequently settled for reasons that have nothing to do with the actions of a specific police officer named in the suit, including cases where the city settles rather than fighting a frivolous suit in court,” PBA President Patrick Hendry in a statement.
An NYPD spokesperson said the department carefully analyzes both individual cases and litigation trends.
In each category in Legal Aid’s analysis, one officer stood out above others:
David Grieco, Sergeant, 48 cases settled since 2013
Greico, who is still active in the NYPD, was a defendant in 48 cases for which the city paid legal settlements between 2013 to 2023. The city payout sum from all of those lawsuits was $1,099,825.
In one case, Grieco and two police officers allegedly forcefully entered a victims home without a search warrant, according to the…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply