L.L. 2021/047

Enactment date: 4/25/2021

Int. No. 2212-A

By Council Members Gibson, Kallos, Constantinides, Louis, Chin, Rosenthal, Rivera and Gennaro

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to clarifying that the New York city civilian complaint review board has the power to investigate bias-based policing and racial profiling, requiring such board to investigate past professional conduct by members of the police department determined to have engaged in acts of bias and to make remedial recommendations and requiring the police department to engage an external consultant to perform a review of certain past work done by the equal employment opportunity division of the police department

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 5.   a.   The police department shall, in accordance with this section, engage an independent, external consultant to perform an independent, full and complete review of all, or a statistically significant sampling of, work performed and cases handled by the equal employment opportunity division of the police department between October 1, 2017 and October 31, 2020, inclusive, to determine whether such work performed and cases handled by such division were done in accordance with the purpose, mission and protocols of such division as described by the police department in any policies of the police department and any publicly published materials.

   b.   The police department shall fully cooperate with such review and provide such assistance as such external consultant may request, including by providing such external consultant with any and all materials containing policies of the police department that describe the purpose, mission or protocols of such division. The police commissioner shall ensure that all members of the police department and other persons acting on behalf of such department respond to inquiries by such external consultant in connection with such review.

   c.   The agreement under which the police department engages such external consultant shall require and provide as follows, in addition to including any other terms and provisions the police department may determine to be appropriate:

      1.   Except as otherwise provided in this local law or as otherwise required by law, such external consultant and its employees, agents and representatives shall keep confidential and are prohibited from disclosing outside such external consultant any information such external consultant obtains in the course of such review.

      2.   Within 30 days after the conclusion of such review, such external consultant shall make publicly available online and submit to the mayor, police commissioner and speaker of the council a written report summarizing the findings of such review. Such report shall include recommendations for improving the function of such division with respect to its purpose, mission and protocols and for remedying instances in which such division did not fulfill such purpose or mission or follow its protocols, excluding any recommendations that such division reinvestigate or otherwise reconsider particular past work or cases handled by such division.

      3.   Such external consultant may make recommendations to the police commissioner that such division reinvestigate or otherwise reconsider particular past work or cases handled by such division.

   d.   Within 120 days after receiving such report from such external consultant, the police commissioner shall make publicly available online and submit to the mayor and speaker of the council a written statement on the actions that the police department has taken or plans to take in response to the findings and recommendations in such report. In any instance where the action taken or planned to be taken in response to such report differs from that recommended in such report, the police commissioner shall provide in such statement a detailed explanation of the reasons for deviating from such recommendation. If the police commissioner takes any action in response to such report after such 120-day period, and such action was not described in a prior statement prepared by the police commissioner pursuant to this subdivision, the police commissioner shall make publicly available online and provide to the mayor and speaker of the council an updated version of such statement within 10 days after taking such action.

   e.   Nothing in this section shall require the publication of information that is protected by law.

   f.   Before making any report available to the public pursuant to this section, the police department or an external consultant engaged by such department shall remove any individual's name, all personal identifying information as defined by subdivision a of section 10-501 of the administrative code of the city of New York and any information that, in conjunction with information available to the general public, may result in the disclosure of an individual's identity.

§ 6.   a.   Sections one through four of this local law take effect 270 days after they become law, except that the New York city civilian complaint review board shall take such measures as are necessary for the implementation of such sections, including the promulgation of rules, before such date.

   b.   Section five of this local law takes effect 30 days after it becomes law.