NCPD needs to stop shenanigans

The Nassau County Police Department says its mission is to “obey the law.” On its website, it states, “We are committed to honesty and ethical behavior in all our actions. We accept individual responsibility and accountability for our actions and decisions.”

However, in a bewildering choice that smacks of politics, the NCPD has refused to follow state law requiring it to turn over police disciplinary records. It has deliberately thumbed its nose at District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly whose office  is required to obtain and provide these records to criminal defendants as part of her prosecutorial duties.

The department's cavalier disregard for the law, backed by the county’s three major law enforcement unions, has resulted already in the dismissal of one criminal case and threatens many others. Two weeks ago, just before a court-imposed deadline, the NCPD finally released the files of the officers involved in the pending vehicular homicide prosecution of Amandeep Singh, who is accused of killing two Roslyn teen tennis players while driving the wrong way, high and drunk in his Dodge Ram. Perhaps the department realized the risk of such a high-profile case being dismissed because of what is essentially a union tantrum would have been a little too over the top.

This defiance is in contrast with other police departments around the state that are complying with the rules even if they disagree with the law and it puts Nassau prosecutors at odds with the county’s force. “The NCPD’s refusal to provide all underlying disciplinary records essentially gambles with valid prosecutions,” wrote the district attorney’s office, which has been forced in at least seven cases to take legal action in State Supreme Court to compel Nassau police to comply. Despite four rulings in Nassau Supreme Court ordering the NCPD to stop the nonsense, it appears to be ongoing. Donnelly's office discreetly says it “continues to work with the police department to resolve outstanding discovery issues.”

The 2020 law expanded the type of evidence that all defendants are entitled to in preparing their defense. It also sped up the timeline for such disclosure. While these new changes broadened New York’s law in the name of transparency, the overall legal principle of disclosure was established decades ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder acts as if there’s nothing wrong with his wrongheaded position. County Executive Bruce Blakeman has not publicly commented, but if he disagrees with his wayward commissioner he should do something about it. 

The police department takes the position that turning over disciplinary files — some containing proven allegations, others unsubstantiated — is a violation of an officer’s privacy and can be damaging to his reputation. Their energy should be directed toward lobbying for changes in discovery rules. While these laws are on the books, however, they must be followed.

Blakeman should end these shenanigans, so the district attorney can do her job.