But the department’s reluctance to investigate and discipline officers for lying — as shown by the information collected by the civilian review board — appears to be as much of a problem as the initial lies. Looking at the cases brought by the review board is only one way to gauge how the Police Department responds to accusations of lying within its ranks. Another way is to review criminal cases that were dismissed after a judge concluded that a police officer’s testimony was not credible. About 150 more were disciplined to a lesser extent for making false statements in recent years, he said. In Search of AccountabilityThe set of 81 cases in which the civilian review board accused officers of lying offers an opportunity to systematically examine how the Police Department handles allegations of dishonesty.

Source: New York Times March 20, 2018 01:52 UTC