Judge rules NYPD must turn over shooting reports

A Manhattan judge has ordered the NYPD to release data on police shooting incidents that it had been fighting tooth and nail to keep private.

In a decision made public today, State Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman ruled the cops must turn over two kinds of reports that are filed after every shooting incident involving a civilian to the New York Civil Liberties Union.

She ordered the NYPD to turn over data dating back to 1997, but said police can withhold certain identifying information in the documents and any recommendations contained in in the reports.

The NYCLU had been trying to get the information since early 2009, when it filed a Freedom of Information Law request that the NYPD then rejected. The NYCLU filed suit over the issue in late 2009.

“Once again, the courts have rejected the NYPD’s pattern of withholding information from the public,” NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said in a statement.

“Fortunately the number of police shooting incidents is relatively small, but these reports are essential for the public to fully understand and assess the NYPD’s shooting practices. They will help us give New Yorkers the full story on police shootings, not the NYPD’s spin.”

Goodman's ruling orders the NYPD release two types of reports it creates after cops fire their weapons at civilians - an initial report that's filed 24 hours after the incident, and another more detailed report that's filed 90 days after a shooting.

Lawyers for the NYPD had put forward a laundry list of reasons why they believed the reports should be completely withheld, including arguing that it would interfere with investigations, discourage witnesses from cooperating, and because their release could be an "unwarranted invasion of privacy" for those involved.

Goodman said the NYPD's stance flew in the face of the Freedom of Information law, and ordered the reports be released - but without the names of the officers, victims and witnesses involved.

Jesse Levine of the city Law Department said, "We are pleased that the judge properly recognized the privacy and law enforcement concerns expressed," but "feel she did not strike the appropriate balance in directing us to provide documents that intertwine both confidential and non-confidential information."

He said his office is weighing an appeal.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly declined comment on the ruling, saying he had not yet read it.

The NYCLU said it wanted the data as part of the ifnromation it was collecting on the department in the wake of the 2006 NYPD shooting of Sean Bell, an unarmed Queens man.