According to a new analysis from the Legal Aid Society, the city of New York paid out more money to settle police misconduct lawsuits in 2022 than they did in the last five years.  

The city paid over $121 million to settle lawsuits against the NYPD in 2022. While the number of lawsuits settled on behalf of the NYPD has declined steadily in the last five years, the payouts have increased.  

Several payouts were made in police misconduct cases towards protesters following the death of George Floyd in 2020, according to the Legal Aid Society’s analysis. 

In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ fatal beating by Memphis police, the Legal Aid Society is calling on the mayor and the NYPD commissioner to hold its officers accountable on top of settling lawsuits.  

“We see that in many cases where there are large payouts… just no discipline, or at most a slap on the wrist,” said Molly Griffard of the Legal Aid Society.  

The NYPD responded with the following statement: 

“While the decision to settle a lawsuit, and for how much, remains with the Law Department and the Comptroller -- the NYPD actively seeks out information learned from these lawsuits in order to improve officer performance and enhance training or policy, where necessary.” 

The Legal Aid Society says it is concerned that the current system is sending a message to NYPD officers that their misconduct will be tolerated.