§ 1-02 Jurisdiction.
RCNY § 1-02
(a)Pursuant to Chapter 18-A, Section 440(c)(1) of the Charter, the Board has the power to receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action upon complaints by members of the public or complaints initiated by the Board against uniformed members of the New York City Police Department that allege misconduct involving excessive use of force, abuse of authority, including bias-based policing and racial profiling, discourtesy, or use of offensive language, including, but not limited to, slurs relating to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, immigration and housing status, and disability. The Board also has the power to investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action regarding the truthfulness of any material official statement made by a member of the police department who is the subject of a complaint received, or initiated, by the Board, if such statement was made during the course of and in relation to the Board's resolution of such complaint. The Board is authorized to appoint such Agency staff as necessary to exercise its powers, including, but not limited to, the power to initiate complaints and fulfill its duties.
(b)(1) Pursuant to Chapter 18-A, Section 441(b)(1) of the Charter, the Board: (i) shall conduct an investigation of past conduct in the course of performance of official duties by a current or former uniformed member of the Police Department whom a covered entity has found, in a final determination reached after such member was afforded an opportunity to respond to the relevant allegations, to have engaged in a severe act of bias, regardless of whether such member was on or off duty when engaging in such act, if the date that such investigation commences would be less than five years after such final determination was made; and (ii) may conduct an investigation of past professional conduct in the course of performance of official duties by a current or former member of the Police Department whom a covered entity has found, in a final determination reached after such member was afforded an opportunity to respond to the relevant allegations, to have engaged in an act of bias other than a severe act of bias, regardless of whether such member was on or off duty when engaging in such act, if the date that such investigation commences would be less than five years after such final determination was made.
(2)Pursuant to Chapter 18-A, Section 441(b)(2) of the Charter, a member of the Police Department's off-duty conduct may be the basis for initiating an investigation of past conduct in the course of performance of official duties only if (i) such conduct could have resulted in removal or discipline by the Police Department, (ii) the Board reasonably believes such conduct has had or could have had a disruptive effect on the mission of the Police Department, and (iii) the Police Department's interest in preventing actual or potential disruption outweighs the member's speech interest.
(c)The jurisdiction of the Board includes the prosecution of certain substantiated civilian complaints pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed by the Board and the Police Department on April 2, 2012, (as from time to time amended) during the period that such MOU is in effect.
(d)The findings and recommendations of the Board, and the basis therefor, regarding Case investigations and administrative Prosecutions will be submitted to the Police Commissioner. (Amended City Record 1/2/2018, eff. 2/1/2018; amended City Record 2/24/2021, eff. 3/26/2021; amended City Record 9/22/2022, eff. 10/22/2022)
