New York City paid more than $117 million in settlements for police misconduct lawsuits in 2025, according to an analysis by the Legal Aid Society. This figure represents the third-highest yearly total since 2018 but is lower than the previous year's record of over $200 million.
Key Takeaways
New York City paid more than $117 million in settlements for police misconduct lawsuits in 2025, according to a study by the Legal Aid Society. This figure represents the third-highest yearly total since 2018 but is lower than the previous year's record of over $200 million.
- The city settled more than 1,000 lawsuits in 2025, with 17 cases costing over $1 million each.
- The largest payouts were $13 million and $11 million to two men wrongfully convicted of a murder in the late 1980s.
- About one-third of the total settlements, approximately $42 million, were for reversed convictions.
- The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) argues that many lawsuits are settled without giving officers a chance to defend themselves.
The city began publishing data on settlements related to NYPD misconduct in 2013, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio amended a law in 2017 requiring disclosures of civil actions against the NYPD every six months. The analysis found that more than 1,000 lawsuits were resolved last year, with 17 cases costing over $1 million each.
The largest payouts, totaling $24.1 million, went to two men who spent more than 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a murder near Times Square in the late 1980s. Another settlement, for $5.75 million, was awarded to a man who claimed police blinded him in his left eye with a stun gun.
Jennvine Wong, supervising attorney with Legal Aid's cop accountability unit, told reporters that the high payouts reflect a "culture of impunity" within the NYPD. She said: "All of these kinds of things cost the taxpayer money. The NYPD has not done enough to prevent that."
The Police Benevolent Association (PBA), which represents more than 21,000 uniformed officers, pushed back on allegations of misconduct. PBA president Patrick Hendry said in a statement: "The city routinely settles lawsuits in cases where police officers have done nothing wrong, rather than fighting them in court." He added that the settlements are "no reflection on how police officers are performing their duties."
In response to the analysis, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch's spokesperson said many of the incidents settled last year occurred more than 20 years ago. The spokesperson noted that Tisch has taken significant steps to increase accountability and update policies that could create a greater risk of litigation.
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