Nearly 40 NYPD officers are facing allegations of misconduct connected to protests surrounding the war in Gaza, the city’s police watchdog agency announced Wednesday.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board has received 20 complaints related to the demonstrations, some of which name more than one officer, Director Jonathan Darche said during a monthly meeting. Five of the complaints pertain to protests on college campuses. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
“New York City must remain a place where students feel safe and opinions can be voiced safely, especially of our young New Yorkers,” interim Board Chair Arva Rice said. “For demonstrations to remain safe, the policing of these protests must remain just and any misconduct that occurs must be held to account.”
The Civilian Complaint Review Board investigates some types of alleged police misconduct, including excessive force and discourtesy. It can recommend discipline when its investigators find that an officer has violated department policy but does not have the authority to impose punishments.
The number of complaints connected to the recent protests about the war in Gaza pales in comparison to those filed in relation to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when thousands of New Yorkers flooded the streets. At that time, people filed more than 300 complaints, including allegations that officers drove into a throng of protesters, dispersed their pepper spray indiscriminately, fractured bones with harsh baton strikes and bound demonstrators’ hands so tightly with zip ties that they temporarily lost feeling in their hands. A lengthy report published last year urged the NYPD to improve its response to demonstrations — and make it easier for the oversight group to investigate complaints. A federal judge last month ordered the NYPD to overhaul its protest protocols in response to litigation from the 2020 protests.
Tensions between police and protesters have escalated again in recent months as New Yorkers across the political spectrum have taken to the streets to weigh in on the war in Gaza. As the leaders of local universities have called in the NYPD to remove encampments on their campuses and arrest protesters who won’t leave, some police oversight advocates are concerned that the department has not made necessary changes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating an NYPD sergeant who accidentally fired his gun while searching for protesters inside an academic building at Columbia University.
Police have arrested hundreds at demonstrations on and around college campuses since mid-April, according to law enforcement. Civilian Complaint Review Board officials did not share details about the allegations outlined in recent claims from protesters.