A new report published Wednesday by the Civilian Complaint Review Board found hundreds of substantiated allegations against 145 NYPD officers during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

The board has recommended charges against 88 of them, but the NYPD has only disciplined 10 officers so far – which is unsurprising news for those who say they have seen and experienced police brutality firsthand.

What You Need To Know

  • The CCRB says it received over 750 complaints relating to the behavior of NYPD officers at BLM protests

  • The CCRB substantiated 267 allegations against 145 officers

  • The CCRB will release a full report this summer, detailing their key takeaways on how to improve the NYPD’s response to protests

“These officers, because they’re not being prosecuted, they feel like it’s okay and that’s the wrong message to send to the people,” said Hawk Newsome, who led protests during the summer of 2020.

He and Chevona Newsome founded Black Lives Matter of Greater New York — which organized rallies in the city following the killing of George Floyd. He said he’s disappointed but not shocked by the report.

“It leads to a distrust in policing in New York, it makes you question the mayor’s capability of holding police accountable.”

The latest report found a total of 267 substantiated allegations against the police officers.

“It’s a total lack of accountability on the city of New York,” said Hawk. “Here you have people exercising their first amendment right, their constitutional right and police are butchering and harming people.”

The CCRB held a meeting on Wednesday, talking through the latest data and answering questions from the public. When asked about the effectiveness of the CCRB in holding officers accountable, some board members say there’s still a long way to go.

"I am troubled by the number of cases where we recommended fairly significant discipline, command discipline, As or Bs, as well as charges, where no discipline at all was imposed,” said Erica Bond, a member of the CCRB appointed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The Interim Chair of the CCRB says the board overcame numerous roadblocks during this investigation — particularly trying to identify cops. The CCRB says dozens of officers failed to follow proper protocols, covered their names and shield and did not properly use body cameras.

In a statement, a spokesperson for DCPI said, “The NYPD has assisted the CCRB in their investigations by providing hundreds of hours of body-worn-camera footage. Like any citizen, police officers should be afforded presumption of innocence until and unless proven guilty.”

Hawk and Chivona say social justice activists can’t rely on political leaders and the NYPD to hold officers accountable. Rather, it’s up to the people to stand up against police misconduct.

“People need to stand up because anyone watching this knows that it’s a human rights issue,” said Chivona.

The CCRB will release a full report this summer, detailing their key takeaways on how to improve the NYPD’s response to protests.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated which mayor appointed Bond to the CCRB.