NYPD Discipline Matrix

For immediate release: June 13, 2023

Communities United for Police Reform Responds to NYPD Commissioner Sewell's Resignation

In response to yesterday’s announcement that NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell is resigning, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) issued the following statement from CPR spokesperson Loyda Colon (they/them), Executive Director of the Justice Committee: “NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Mayor Adams made repeated early promises to better care for and protect New Yorkers, including ensuring meaningful police accountability. By this measure, and by many, many more,  Sewell’s tenure and Adams’ approach to public safety have been abject failures.  Under Sewell and Adams’ watch, the NYPD has been more consistently violent and hyper-aggressive and less accountable than at any time since Giuliani was mayor.

NYPD commissioner vows to alert public if he deviates from new disciplinary guidelines for rogue cops

01/26/2021
New York Daily News

When rogue police are punished by the NYPD, it will be by the book — and if it isn’t, the public is going to know why, the city’s top cop pledged Tuesday.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said he does not plan to deviate from the punishments laid out in the department’s new Disciplinary Matrix.

“When we have a set of rules, whether as a police officer or a police commissioner putting out discipline, when we are working on agreed upon rules, the expectation is that they are going to be followed,” Shea told NY1.

De Blasio Touts New NYPD Disciplinary Guidelines, but Critics Say It Lacks Legally Binding Power

01/21/2021
NY1

Since announcing it late last Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been calling attention to the NYPD's Disciplinary Matrix, a new document that outlines disciplinary action for officer misconduct.

Although no such guidance has previously been available, some working to increase NYPD transparency say the document lacks the binding power of the law.

NYPD Could Have Two Federal Monitors At The Same Time. But That Won't Bring Quick Reforms.

01/15/2021
Gothamist

The New York City Police Department could be the first in the country to be simultaneously overseen by two separate federal court monitors if state Attorney General Letitia James is successful in her lawsuit over how the agency handles large protests.

But experts warn that won’t be a panacea for everything critics say is wrong with the 36,000-officer force, which James argues is guilty of widespread brutality and violating the rights of protesters during Black Lives Matter demonstrations in summer 2020.

NYPD Releases New Disciplinary Guidelines, But Commissioner Still Has Final Say On Penalties

01/16/2021
Gothamist

The NYPD released a set of new guidelines for officers found guilty of misconduct, outlining penalties for violations like excessive use of force, making false statements, or racial profiling under a first-of-its-kind “disciplinary matrix” that takes effect immediately.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea called the matrix a “living document” that could evolve. Shea said in a statement that the purpose of the matrix is to eliminate the “perception of favoritism or bias” that can undermine the department’s approach to meting out discipline.

NYPD’s new set of disciplinary guidelines for cops has big holes, critics say

01/21/2021
New York Daily News

The NYPD’s new and much-hyped disciplinary matrix will not change the fact that the police commissioner still has ultimate discretion over how punishments are meted out for cops’ misconduct, Mayor de Blasio revealed Thursday.

De Blasio spent much of the morning talking up a recent agreement between the NYPD and the Civilian Complaint Review Board on a set of new guidelines that lay out how cops will be disciplined for a variety of transgressions, including the use of chokeholds and providing false information.

For immediate release: September 30, 2020

Families of Loved Ones Killed by NYPD, Community Organizations, and CPR Denounce NYPD Discipline Matrix

In response to a September 30th deadline for public input to draft NYPD disciplinary guidelines released in August, families of New Yorkers killed by NYPD and close to 70 organizations joined Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Speaker Corey Johnson and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea collectively rejecting the guidelines as “illegitimate and dangerous.”