“This is why I voted against the repeal of 50-a. Officials
in the Town of Cuba have alerted me to a fax they received from an out-of-state
organization called MuckRock, demanding copies of all police personnel files -
dating back to the 1970’s - that contain complaints of misconduct, including
accusations that were found to be groundless after investigation. MuckRock has
stated that they have made this request of every policing agency in New York
State.
“At a time when localities are struggling to meet their
regular expenses because of the crushing impact that COVID-19 has had on their
budgets, it is outrageous that they will now be required to devote precious
staff time and taxpayer dollars towards searching, copying, faxing and emailing
decades-old personnel files containing groundless claims, even those where the
officers involved have been deceased for decades. For many police departments,
the small reimbursement that they are entitled to collect from the requesting
organization won’t even begin to cover the costs. Services to the public may
even be impacted.
“What good will this information serve? It will wrongly
tarnish officers who had unsubstantiated complaints lodged by vengeful criminal
defendants and serve as fodder for lawsuits by trial lawyers looking to line
their pockets. Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for this phishing
expedition. That’s why a thoughtful analysis that included the potential
financial impact and unintended consequences should have been done. This is
another example of why knee-jerk reactions for political reasons are costly.”
