Over the last year and a half, reporter Sammy Sussman has filed more than 700 records requests and obtained 27,000 pages of police misconduct files from across New York State, with support from the Fund. Reporting for New York Focus and MuckRock, Sussman found that some police departments falsely claim they have no records of misconduct complaints – and some police officers have been able to move from one location to another without disclosing past complaints of misconduct. In a new story for New York Focus, Sussman reports that a police chief who denied that his department had any records of misconduct complaints against its employees was himself the subject of sexual misconduct allegations. And in a new story for MuckRock, Sussman reports on a so-called “wandering officer” who had spent time in three police departments near Albany, despite repeatedly facing allegations of sexual misconduct, often with minors. Because New York lacks a centralized database to track police misconduct, the officer moved between departments without his subsequent employers learning about the allegations.
Grantee’s extensive reporting uncovers hidden police misconduct cases in New York
