New York Police Department (NYPD) misconduct lawsuits have cost the city more than $540 million the last six years, according to an analysis of government data released Thursday.
Since 2018, the lawsuits have totaled $548,047,141, including $114,586,723 for 2023 alone, according to The Legal Aid Society. The real total payouts for police misconduct is almost certainly higher, since the data does not include matters that were settled with the comptroller’s office before formal litigation, according to the organization.
With few exceptions, the number of disposed lawsuits each year has decreased but the median payout has continued to grow. In 2018, there were 1,579 settlements, for a median payout of $10,500. By 2023, there were 801 lawsuits settled, at a median payout of $25,000.
Jennvine Wong, a staff attorney with the Cop Accountability Project at The Legal Aid Society, said the total amount of funds from the payouts was “staggering” and said it reveals a system that fails to hold officers accountable.
You may underestimate the damage of a lawsuit. The first really great ‘exemplar’ lawsuit that comes through will absolutely bankrupt all retirees, good or bad, as that kind of fund is usually tightly managed and rarely enough. It’ll be crushed.
If you want to sic it to the bad cops but not the ones that actually did as good a job as possible, collective punishment is no good here. In fact, it’s still a war crime.
Well the union will have to carry insurance (obviously). And that premium will be a function of the departments performance.
if a department can’t get insurance than it can’t operate.
Its really not as difficult as you make it out to be, but yes, it should be painful for an entire department when there is misconduct.