In 2018, Jamaal Blake was walking in Brooklyn when a police car swerved to avoid a 12-year-old boy. The car jumped the curb and struck Blake instead. Blake, who survived his severe injuries, sued, settling for $5 million in December 2023. But why wasn’t that reported?
Of all city payouts to cover NYPD misconduct since 1969, 69% have been from the past decade alone. A new investigation into public records revealed that the Law Department omitted 12,700 settlements and monetary verdicts from 2013 to 2023 in required twice-a-year summaries.
That’s $1.2 billion worth of unreported spending, or 56% of NYPD litigation settlements in that decade. Even the Exonerated Five’s $41 million settlement “slipped” through the cracks. The same year Blake won his settlement, presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to “indemnify” police. But cops don’t pay for damages anyway.
Between 2006 and 2011, for example, governments shelled out money for their civil rights violations 99.98% of the time — and “governments” ends up meaning local taxpayers.
While the NYPD and other departments get rewarded with more funding for militarization, surveillance, and Cop Cities, public services like libraries get defunded, and our money is stolen to pay for their bad behavior. Reallocating police funds and reconsidering who should pay for misconduct is only the beginning. Reducing our contact with police will save money — and lives.