Discrimination is in the Ranks
Statistics show bias in NYPD
Black and Hispanic cops have said for years that their superiors treat them
worse and discipline them more than their white counterparts.
Cops are all the same color, blue, the brass has responded, and the NYPD, unlike
the rest of the world, treats everyone the same.
But even as they continued to repeat this line, police officials were quietly
compiling figures that show the systematic inequality they so vehemently denied.
For the past 20 years, minority and female cops have been accused of serious
misconduct that can result in dismissal or suspension at far higher rates than
their white male colleagues, according to the department's year-by-year computer
summaries of disciplinary actions.
The records, which were obtained by the Daily News, have never before been made
public.
Last year, for instance, white cops comprised 68% of the 38,000-member police
force, but 59% of the 964 cops accused of serious misconduct were minorities.
And while 13.7% of uniformed personnel were black, they made up 35.1% of those
brought up on charges.
Since 1977, the department has meted out its toughest discipline, called charges
and specifications, to black cops at two to three times their actual numbers in
the department, to women at twice their number and to Hispanics at 1 1/2 times
their number.
The only serious drop in the rate of black cops disciplined occurred from 1990
to 1993, the four years that David Dinkins was mayor.
It plummeted during those years, from 34.4% of cops charged in 1989 to 24.8% in
1993. In 1989, black cops made up only 11% of the department.
In 1994, the first year of the Giuliani administration, the percentages of both
black and Hispanic cops disciplined began to rise again and is now near record
levels for both groups.
"We've always known this was happening, but for the first time we have some
proof," said Sgt. Anthony Miranda, president of the Latino Officers Association.
Late yesterday, the Guardians, the black police officers group, and the Latino
Officers Association filed a class-action federal equal opportunity complaint.
They plan to use the department's own computer records to force a comprehensive
review of disciplinary procedures.
"It's outrageous that this kind of de facto discrimination and disparate
treatment has been going on for so long," said civil rights lawyer Bonita
Zelman, the attorney for the two groups who has doggedly defended dozens of
black and Hispanic cops at departmental trials.
Police officials again repeated their timeworn line.
"We discipline people who violate our regulations without regard to their color
or their gender," said Deputy Commissioner Marilyn Mode. "Your premise is
absurd."
But it is inconceivable that every year for the past 20 years commanders have
somehow found greater fault with black, Hispanic and female cops.
Mike Julian, a former chief of personnel in the department who also was a
respected precinct commander for many years, believes some of the disparity
results because most commanders, being white, don't understand minority cops.
"If a white commander has a misunderstanding with a black cop, it's
insubordination," Julian said. "If it happens with a white cop, the guy's
excused as just being stupid."
"There's always been more scrutiny applied to Latinos, blacks and women," said
Hector Soto, who was in charge of prosecuting police misconduct under Ben Ward,
the city's first black police commissioner.
Ironically, it was under Ward that black cops had the most charges brought
against them.
"There was a lot of antagonism in the department against minority cops in those
years, because of the quota systems," Soto said. "The old-timers felt the new
cops weren't qualified, and I was constantly getting a lot of crap charges from
the precinct commanders.
"We would reject a lot of the stuff and send it back down for lighter
punishment, like command disciplines. But we never tried to keep track of how it
was breaking down racially."
Female cops have fared even worse than Hispanic cops. Since 1985, 20% to 25% of
cops charged with misconduct have been women, even though they have never made
up more than 15% of the force.
Only in rare instances, however, has discrimination actually been proven.
In 1986, Officer Mary Lenihan was fired after it was determined that she was
psychologically unfit. She had repeatedly complained to her superiors that she
was treated unfairly in her assignments.
A federal judge ordered Lenihan's reinstatement when her lawyer, Janice Goodman,
showed that 19 male cops — who had been ordered to undergo treatment for
emotional disorders following serious infractions, including an officer who shot
up a bar and another who had 17 abuse complaints against him — had not been
fired.
Original Story Date: 041797
Original Story Section: City Central