#Fed court blocks release of NYPD misconduct records until judges hear appeal

A federal court has halted the release of police misconduct records until a coalition of New York City’s police, fire and corrections unions can make their case to the United States Second Circuit of Appeals.

The ruling came Wednesday afternoon — just days after Manhattan Federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled on a lawsuit brought by the unions over the repeal of the law shielding police personnel records known as 50a.

Both sides are expected to file their arguments to a three-judge panel by Sept. 11 and be heard by the court during “the next available motions panel after briefing is completed,” according to the order.

The unions have argued the release of unsubstantiated and unfounded claims against officers and firefighters could pose a threat to their members and family and could affect future job prospects.

Failla, though, over a nearly hour-and-a-half reading of her ruling Friday, rejected the vast majority of the union attorneys’ arguments.

“With a very limited exception for certain NYPD materials that I believe to be squarely covered by certain collective bargaining agreements, I am denying plaintiffs’ motion,” she read.

The judge issued a stay on the order allowing the unions to appeal.

An attorney for the coalition of unions, Tony Coles, filed the appeal Tuesday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo repealed 50a, which shielded the public from seeing disciplinary records, as part of a package of police reforms in mid-June in response to the backlash from the death of George Floyd.

The unions didn’t challenge the release of information until July, when it became public that the Civilian Complaint Review Board planned to publish a database of its investigations.

Failla initially stopped the New York Civil Liberties Union from releasing any of the information it got from the CCRB through the state Freedom of Information Law but lifted the stay on July 28.

After the U.S. Second Circuit of Appeals declined to overturn her ruling, the NYCLU published a searchable database with more than 322,000 records.

The massive trove of allegation named more than 80,000 officers current and retired — and extended as high as Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and members of his executive team.