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RECORDS OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING A POLICE OFFICER ARE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE EVEN IF THE IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IS REDACTED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Garcia, affirming the appellate division, over a concurring opinion and two dissenting opinions, determined that the records of New York Police Department disciplinary proceedings concerning a police officer are exempt from disclosure, even if the identifying information in the records is redacted:

The FOIL exemption at issue, Public Officers Law § 87 (2) (a), provides that an agency may deny access to records that “are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute.” The parties agree that the disciplinary decisions requested by the NYCLU are covered by a state statute: Civil Rights Law § 50-a. * * *

“There can be no question” that Civil Rights Law § 50-a permits court-ordered disclosure “only in the context of an ongoing litigation” … . Absent officer consent, protected personnel records are shielded from disclosure “except when a legitimate need for them has been demonstrated to obtain a court order” based on a “showing that they are actually relevant to an issue in a pending proceeding” … . Here, in the context of the NYCLU’s FOIL request, the requested records are not “relevant and material” to any pending litigation … , and accordingly, they are not disclosable. * * *

This case presents a straightforward application of Civil Rights Law § 50-a and Public Officers Law § 87 (2) (a), which mandate confidentiality and supply no authority to compel redacted disclosure. To the extent the dissent would prefer to revoke civil rights protections afforded to police officers (Civil Rights Law § 50-a), victims of sex crimes (Civil Rights Law § 50-b), medical patients (Public Health Law § 2803-c [3] [f]), or others, those arguments are properly directed to the Legislature. Matter of New York Civ. Liberties Union v New York City Police Dept., 2018 NY Slip Op 08423, CtApp 12-13-18

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW, POLICE OFFICERS

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