Eric Adams spent 22 years as a NYPD officer, but the public won’t know anything about his disciplinary record on the force after the department declined to release such records.
Politico reported that the NYPD declined their requests for records about the prospective mayor’s time as an officer. The department cited privacy concerns, denying requests that the outlet made through New York’s Freedom of Information Law, because they would “constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” according to the department, which also cited his status as a retired officer.
Lawmakers voted last year to repeal Section 50-a, a portion of New York’s Civil Rights law that shields police disciplinary records from public access. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the repeal into law as part of a package of policing reforms following last summer’s protests following the murder of George Floyd.
During his tenure, Adams was critical of the NYPD in regards to police brutality and diversity issues on the force. The New York Times reported that Adams was investigated by the department four times. A spokesperson for Adams told Politico that the decision to release Adams’ records is up to the department. “There was, however, no reason for these politically motivated investigations decades ago, nor did they find any wrongdoing whatsoever,” he said.
