DISTRICT OFFICE

CHAIR

573 East Fordham Road

(Entrance on Hoffman Street)
Bronx, NY 10458
(718) 842-8100
FAX: (347) 597-8570

PUBLIC HOUSING

COMMITTEES
GENERAL WELFARE
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

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

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 Departments
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 HIVAffected 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

CHAIR

573 East Fordham Road

(Entrance on Hoffman Street)
Bronx, NY 10458
(718) 842-8100
FAX: (347) 597-8570

PUBLIC HOUSING

COMMITTEES
GENERAL WELFARE
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

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

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 Generals 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 IGs office, CCRB and NYPD, as
well as lawsuits filed, to identify trends,

An effort to publicize the opportunity to file private complaints with the IGs 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