Watchdog who criticized NYPD’s handling of officer discipline resigns

NEW YORK — The head of an oversight board investigating allegations of misconduct by New York City police officers announced her resignation on Monday, ending a tenure in which she publicly criticized the NYPD’s handling of a major disciplinary case and sought to expand the panel’s authority.

Arva Rice, acting president of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, did not give a reason for her resignation, but her departure had been widely expected since early spring. A person familiar with the situation said Rice learned in April that Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, wanted her out of office. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss personnel decisions.

Rice’s departure, effective August 15, sparked immediate protests from advocates of police reform.

Chris Dunn, legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Rice’s resignation was “part of a clear pattern by the Adams administration of undermining the accountability of the NYPD.”

“As reports of NYPD abuses reach their highest level in more than a decade, New Yorkers need more police accountability, not less,” he added.

The firing was applauded by police union leaders, who have long accused the review board – known as the CCRB – of overstepping its authority.

“A leadership change at the CCRB is welcome news for hard-working police officers who have had their careers damaged by anti-police activists on the CCRB board,” said Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, the largest police union in the CCRB. city.

The decision to expel Rice, who was first reported in April by the New York Times, came shortly after she accused the police department of withholding body-worn camera footage and other evidence from the death of Kawaski Trawick, a black man who was shot by a white police officer inside his Bronx apartment in 2019.

No criminal charges were filed against the officer or his partner. The CCRB brought a disciplinary process against the officers that could have led to his firing, but an administrative law judge ruled that the review board had waited too long to bring charges of misconduct — a delay that Rice attributed to the NYPD’s failure to turn over the camera footage body for 18 months. In the end, the officers faced no discipline.

Adams named Rice interim chair of the CCRB in 2022. She was initially placed on the board by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Amaris Cockfield, a spokeswoman for the mayor, called Rice a “valued public servant.”

Rice did not return messages from the AP seeking comment. In her resignation letter, she said she had adopted a “fair and balanced approach, whether she received criticism or applause”.

Adams, a Democrat, campaigned to reduce crime in the city while restoring trust in the department, drawing on his experience as a former police captain who also co-founded a leadership group for black officers that publicly denounced racism in force.

Since taking office in 2022, he has largely maintained outspoken support for the city’s police, supporting senior officials accused of misconduct and working to overturn unpopular legislation in the department.

He publicly defended a high-ranking chief, Jeffrey Maddrey, who was accused of ordering the release of a retired police officer who had been accused of pointing a gun at children. And he rejected calls to remove a close adviser involved in policing decisions, Tim Pearson, who faces multiple sexual harassment lawsuits.

Earlier this year, Adams vetoed legislation demanding that the department collect and publicly report more data on police encounters with New Yorkers, sparking a feud with progressive members of the City Council. Meanwhile, a to push by the NYPD to combat his perceived critics, including judges and council members, on social media received the mayor’s blessing.

The NYPD’s process for disciplining police officers has long been a point of contention, with some cases against officers dragging on for years. In a January speech outlining his priorities for 2024, Adams promised to cut that time in half.

“When a civilian files a complaint, we must act more quickly to resolve the matter,” he said.

But misconduct complaints against officers reached their highest level since 2012, and Adams cut the budget of the agency that examines allegations of misconduct and issues disciplinary recommendations, forcing it to curtail its investigations.

Speaking before the City Council in April, Rice said the “continuing underfunding” of the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board was “making it nearly impossible to keep up with the ever-increasing workload.” She also called on the city to give the council final authority in imposing discipline on officers, which currently rests with the police commissioner.

In many cases, the city’s police commissioner, Edward Caban, rejected the review board’s recommendations. Internal records obtained by ProPublica show that Caban also prevented at least 54 cases from going to trial, far more than any of his predecessors.

Loyda Colón, director of Communities United for Police Reform, said Rice’s firing serves as an additional signal to officers that they are free to act with impunity.

Speaking about the Adams administration, Colón said, “his dismantling of the already weak mechanisms for disciplining police officers is especially horrific, given that NYPD illegal stops have exploded to their highest level since 2015, complaints of police misconduct have increased by more than 50% in one year, and police officers are fatally shooting New Yorkers at the highest rate in a decade.”