DISTRICT OFFICE

573 East Fordham Road

(Entrance on Hoffman Street)

Bronx, NY 10458

(718) 842-8100

FAX: (347) 597-8570

CITY HALL OFFICE

250 Broadway, Suite 1759

New York, NY 10007

(212) 788-6966

FAX: (212) 788-8977

THE COUNCIL OF

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

RITCHIE TORRES COUNCIL MEMBER, 15

TH DISTRICT, BRONX

CHAIR

PUBLIC HOUSING

COMMITTEES

GENERAL WELFARE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

HOUSING & BUILDINGS

LAND USE

PUBLIC SAFETY

DEPUTY LEADER OF

THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

September 8, 2015

Mr. Philip K. Eure

Inspector General

Office of the Inspector General for the New York City Police Department

New York City Department of Investigation

80 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

Dear Inspector General Eure:

I am writing to request that your office conduct an audit of the New York City Police Department’s

compliance with the 2012 Patrol Guide changes regarding the treatment and rights of transgender and

gender non-conforming New Yorkers. Several weeks ago the New York City Council, in partnership with

LGBT organizations from across the city, hosted a forum for transgender New Yorkers. Many of the

participants conveyed a strained relationship with the NYPD rooted in a deep misunderstanding of the

transgender community. A recent national survey by Lambda Legal showed that a quarter of LGBT

respondents who had in-person contact with the police reported at least one type of misconduct or

harassment, including profiling, false arrests, verbal or physical assault, or sexual harassment or assault.1

The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found 22% of transgender respondents had experienced

police harassment, 6% reported physical assault, and 2% reported sexual assault by police officers.2

Reports of police misconduct in New York City reported by LGBT and HIV-affected survivors of

violence increased by 60% from 2013 to 2014.3

Current accounts of profiling and harassment of transgender New Yorkers by NYPD police officers raise

serious concerns about the implementation of the of 2012 changes to the NYPD Patrol Guide. Over the

last three years a broad range of violations that include: strip searches to assign gender based on anatomy,

incarceration in facilities that do not match their gender identity, and failure to use correct names and

pronouns, were reported.4

These abuses have been brought to the attention of the Police Commissioner on multiple occasions,

including at regular meetings of the LGBT Advisory Panel. To date, the Department has responded by

enumerating their officer trainings and cited the relatively small number of complaints filed with the

CCRB. We know that more often than not instances of abuse are never reported to the CCRB and CCRB

reports are therefore an unreliable metric. Neither response adequately addresses if nor how the NYPD is

1 Lambda Legal, Protected and Served? Survey of LGBT/HIV Contact with Police, Courts, Prisons, and Security (2014),

available at www.lambdalegal.org/protectedandserved. 2 Jaime M. Grant, Lisa A. Mottet, and Justin Tanis, Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination

Survey (Washington: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011), available at

http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf. 3 A Report From the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-

Affected Hate Violence in 2014, available at http://www.avp.org/storage/documents/Reports/2014_HV_Report-Final.pdf 4 Bellafonte, Ginia. Arrests by the Fashion Police. NY Times. 5 April 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/nyregion/arrests-by-the-fashion-police.html?_r=0

DISTRICT OFFICE

573 East Fordham Road

(Entrance on Hoffman Street)

Bronx, NY 10458

(718) 842-8100

FAX: (347) 597-8570

CITY HALL OFFICE

250 Broadway, Suite 1759

New York, NY 10007

(212) 788-6966

FAX: (212) 788-8977

THE COUNCIL OF

THE CITY OF NEW YORK

RITCHIE TORRES COUNCIL MEMBER, 15

TH DISTRICT, BRONX

CHAIR

PUBLIC HOUSING

COMMITTEES

GENERAL WELFARE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

HOUSING & BUILDINGS

LAND USE

PUBLIC SAFETY

DEPUTY LEADER OF

THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

complying with the 2012 Patrol Guide changes, and it is increasingly evident that more oversight is

required to ensure effective implementation of these changes.

I respectfully request that the Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent audit to determine

how the 2012 Patrol Guide changes are being implemented and NYPD compliance with the new

provisions.

Based on recommendations from a broad range of stakeholders, an effective audit would include:

Precinct-by-precinct evaluation of the implementation of and compliance with the Patrol Guide

changes regarding NYPD interactions with LGBT people,

Public forums and focus groups held by the Inspector General’s office to solicit feedback from

community members and organizations about how the new policies are being implemented,

Interviews and “spot-checks” with line officers and desk officers in precincts across the city about

how they understand and are implementing the new policies,

Review of complaints submitted to advocacy organizations, the IG’s office, CCRB and NYPD, as

well as lawsuits filed, to identify trends,

An effort to publicize the opportunity to file private complaints with the IG’s Office.

An audit of the implementation of and compliance with the 2012 NYPD Patrol Guide changes will help

ensure that the LGBT community and transgender and gender nonconforming people in particular, are

being treated with dignity and respect by law enforcement.

I look forward to receiving your timely response on this important request.

Sincerely,

Council Member Ritchie Torres