CCRB Brings Justice to Victims of Police Misconduct
Maroua Righi gives prizes to students in the True Crimes classes for demonstrating knowledge of the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Photo Credit: Fariha Ahmed
By FARIHA AHMED and DARNAILIA HOLMES
An outreach coordinator for NYC’s police-busting Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), Maroua Righi, visited Ms. Joan Rowe’s and Mr. Conrad Boyd’s True Crimes classes on January 8 to explain how the watchdog agency responds to police misconduct.
The CCRB is the largest civilian agency in the country, Righi said, handling thousands of complaints of NYPD officers and deterring police brutality.
Officers are expected to follow a patrol guide which involves avoiding FADO (Force, Abuse of Authority, Discourtesy, and Offensive Language), she said. Police are also supposed to adhere to the NYPD’s policy of CPR, or courtesy, professionalism, and respect.
Examples of misconduct include an officer punching, kicking, “using an impact weapon like a taser or baton, or taking out their firearm,” said Righi, who is also a human rights advocate and student of political science. Police discourtesy is another reason for placing a complaint.
“They aren’t allowed to just curse at you,” she said. Use of religious and racial slurs and abuse of power are also causes for reporting an officer, she continued.
Turn to the CCRB instead of heightening the confrontation, Ms. Righi said, highlighting “the importance of de-escalation.”
The CCRB should be notified of any instances of police conduct, primarily through their hotline, 1-800-341-2272, which is active Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. When the hotline is inactive, report to 311, “visit your local council member, or visit any police precinct,” she said.
Righi explained that the CCRB only deals with cases that involve the NYPD. The case transfers to an investigator, who will first recommend mediation. The point of mediation is to “humanize both sides,” she said. “It’s no longer civilian versus officer, but person versus person, just talking about what happened.”
First, “we have to determine if it falls in our jurisdiction,” said Ms. Righi. Once that is determined, the complainant is given the option to do mediation with the officer. Mediation is a non-disciplinary process that gives you the chance to meet the officer and discuss the events that occurred.
Mediation has been successful for 90 percent of cases, she said. For the other ten percent, investigators compile evidence to determine if misconduct occurred. The CCRB has full authority to subpoena evidence.
“What we can subpoena for a case,” Righi said, “is bodywork camera footage, dashcam footage, private buildings’ camera footage, any necessary NYPD documents, and of course, witnesses.”
“Make sure the officer’s camera light is on,” she said. “We can subpoena the video footage. And try to remember their last name, symbol, and license plate numbers.”
Once an investigation has ended, the CCRB proceeds to a public trial to present its evidence to the police commissioner, who is the head of the NYPD. The CCRB also recommends a verdict and subsequent disciplinary actions, she said. The commissioner does not have to follow the recommendation, though. They may choose something harsher or lighter.
“We can’t enforce discipline,” said Ms. Righi. “But if they don’t follow our recommendation, they have to write a letter explaining the reason.”
“If you don’t say anything, nothing’s going to change,” she said. “If an officer is continuously engaging in misconduct, they will be held accountable.”
In the case of Eric Garner, who was killed by an illegal police chokehold during a 2014 arrest, the CCRB recommended the officer’s termination, and the recommendation was followed.
After the long lecture, students developed different views on why the CCRB is valuable.
Saiyan Joseph ’20 appreciated the CCRB’s neutrality. “Since the CCRB is independent from the police department, it is a good mediator of misconduct issues,” Joseph said.
Jeremy Maniago ’20 said, “It helps me feel at ease.”
“The more about your rights you know the better,” said Mr. Boyd, one of the True Crimes teachers. “Be mindful that officers are good people, but they are human also.”
The CCRB puts up roughly 12 reports a year on nyc.gov/ccrb. You can read the reports to find out if there are any complaints against your police precinct.