Force: PEPPER SPRAY - The NYPD Files

Search Thousands of Civilian Complaints Against New York City Police Officers

This database was last updated in July 2020 and is no longer being updated. Data on this page may be out of date. For more recent information, visit the city's database of civilian complaints against the NYPD.

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Force: Pepper Spray

This page contains all allegations assigned to this category by the CCRB. Multiple similar allegations can appear for the same officer because a complaint received from a civilian can include multiple allegations.

Officers With Complaints

266

Complaints

297

Allegations

324

What the CCRB’s Conclusions Mean

Substantiated: The alleged conduct occurred and it violated the rules. (Here is a breakdown of the types of discipline the CCRB can recommend. The NYPD can choose to ignore those recommendations. It has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.)

Exonerated: The alleged conduct occurred but did not violate the NYPD’s rules, which often give officers significant discretion over use of force.

Unsubstantiated: The CCRB has fully investigated but could not affirmatively conclude both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules.

Officer	Rank at Time of Complaint	Officer Details	Complainant Details	CCRB Conclusion	Year Received
Theresa Callahan	Police Officer	White female	Black male, 26 years old	Exonerated	2007
Patrick Quigley	Police Officer	White male	Asian male, 45 years old	Exonerated	2007
Dmitry Durets	Sergeant	White male	White male, 50 years old	Exonerated	2007
Richard Lavelle	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 21 years old	Exonerated	2005
John Slavinsky	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 62 years old	Exonerated	2009
Christophe Winiarz	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 26 years old	Exonerated	2007
Timothy Schultz	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 36 years old	Substantiated (Charges)	2006
Ted Holway	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 24 years old	Exonerated	2006
Matthew Lombardo	Police Officer	White male	Other Race male, 19 years old	Unsubstantiated	2015
Michael Scoloveno	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 25 years old	Exonerated	2006
Richard Vetrano	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 20 years old	Exonerated	2007
James Burpoe	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 29 years old	Exonerated	2012
Daniel Sandberg	Police Officer	White male	Not available	Substantiated (Command Discipline A)	2018
Victor Appel	Police Officer	White male	Not available male	Exonerated	2004
Clement Krug	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 20 years old	Exonerated	2012
Joseph Hayward	Lieutenant	White male	Hispanic male, 15 years old	Exonerated	2012
Steven Weiss	Sergeant	White male	Other Race male, 26 years old	Exonerated	2007
Brian Brannigan	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 27 years old	Exonerated	2004
Joseph Foss	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 36 years old	Substantiated (Formalized Training)	2016
Bernard Corso	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 29 years old	Exonerated	2011
Steven Weiss	Lieutenant	White male	Black male, 24 years old	Exonerated	2013
David Sammarco	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 25 years old	Exonerated	2006
Scott Hamburger	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 32 years old	Exonerated	2011
Michael Whooley	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 31 years old	Exonerated	2008
Kevin Devine	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 20 years old	Exonerated	2004
Brian Motyka	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 33 years old	Substantiated (Charges)	2009
John Ferrara	Sergeant	White male	Hispanic male, 19 years old	Unsubstantiated	2014
Edward Scali	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 36 years old	Exonerated	2006
Jesse Trap	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 16 years old	Substantiated (Command Discipline B)	2018
Edward Reardon	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 33 years old	Unsubstantiated	2007
Tyler Ehrlein	Detective	White male	Hispanic male, 24 years old	Exonerated	2011
Ryan Scannell	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 32 years old	Exonerated	2010
Terrence Cane	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 58 years old	Exonerated	2002
Terrence Cane	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 41 years old	Exonerated	2002
Terrence Cane	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 20 years old	Exonerated	2004
Christophe Beckett	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 24 years old	Exonerated	2013
Andrew Valenzano	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 42 years old	Exonerated	2005
Thomas Loomis	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 15 years old	Unsubstantiated	2005
Michael Miller	Sergeant	White male	Black female, 40 years old	Exonerated	2005
Stephen Loffredo	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 48 years old	Exonerated	2015
Stephen Loffredo	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 45 years old	Exonerated	2016
Justin Ellis	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 34 years old	Exonerated	2010
Justin Ellis	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 34 years old	Exonerated	2010
Craig Mastromatteo	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 31 years old	Exonerated	2003
James Lagaris	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic female, 47 years old	Substantiated (Charges)	2014
Kyle Stanley	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 48 years old	Exonerated	2015
Christophe White	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 27 years old	Unsubstantiated	2010
Ray Dutton	Police Officer	White male	White female, 52 years old	Exonerated	2015
Jalal Ali	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 34 years old	Unsubstantiated	2019
Jalal Ali	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 35 years old	Unsubstantiated	2019
Michael Doyle	Lieutenant	White male	Black male, 31 years old	Exonerated	2013
Michael Lipetri	Deputy Inspector	White male	Black female, 19 years old	Unsubstantiated	2012
Michael Alleva	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 28 years old	Exonerated	2005
Jalal Ali	Police Officer	White male	Not available	Unsubstantiated	2019
Jalal Ali	Police Officer	White male	Not available	Unsubstantiated	2019
Christophe Lawrence	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 34 years old	Exonerated	1999
Thomas Moroney	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 54 years old	Exonerated	2010
Christophe Owen	Sergeant	White male	Unknown female, 43 years old	Exonerated	2008
Christophe Owen	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 35 years old	Exonerated	2009
Emile Provencher	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 23 years old	Exonerated	2005
Kyle Stanley	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 24 years old	Unsubstantiated	2012
Jon Derise	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 54 years old	Exonerated	2012
Jon Derise	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 61 years old	Exonerated	2010
John Ferrara	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 33 years old	Exonerated	2008
Timothy Heines	Detective	White male	Hispanic male, 28 years old	Exonerated	2002
John Livingston	Detective	White male	Black male, 36 years old	Unsubstantiated	2012
James Mccullough	Detective	White male	Hispanic male, 37 years old	Exonerated	2015
Ray Dutton	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 22 years old	Exonerated	2005
Thomas Kid	Sergeant	White male	Hispanic male, 42 years old	Exonerated	2004
Finbarr Fleming	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 26 years old	Exonerated	2001
Brian Farrelly	Police Officer	White male	White male, 19 years old	Exonerated	2003
Brian Farrelly	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 15 years old	Exonerated	2005
Anthony Henry	Lieutenant	White male	Refused female, 22 years old	Exonerated	2004
Derrick Kreckmann	Police Officer	White male	Unknown female, 34 years old	Exonerated	2015
Carlos Nieves	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 18 years old	Exonerated	2010
Erik Rubinstein	Police Officer	White male	Other Race male, 31 years old	Exonerated	2009
Timothy Kraft	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 25 years old	Exonerated	2015
Dennis Russo	Police Officer	White male	Hispanic male, 33 years old	Exonerated	2003
John Roberts	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 34 years old	Exonerated	2003
Matthew Zito	Detective	White male	Black male, 27 years old	Exonerated	2012
Christophe Devaney	Sergeant	White male	Black female, 40 years old	Exonerated	2003
Christophe Devaney	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 23 years old	Exonerated	2003
Thomas Napolitano	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 27 years old	Exonerated	2008
Matthew Palmieri	Police Officer	White male	Not available	Exonerated	2011
Timothy Mccormack	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 34 years old	Exonerated	1999
Vincent Maher	Police Officer	White male	Black female, 43 years old	Exonerated	2011
Michael Tarulli	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 51 years old	Exonerated	2011
Thomas Cappolla	Police Officer	White male	Not available	Exonerated	2004
Joseph Matzinger	Captain	White male	Black male, 24 years old	Substantiated (Charges)	2013
Anthony Ricciardi	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 22 years old	Substantiated (Command Discipline)	2013
Christophe Salamone	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 31 years old	Exonerated	2005
James Mcgarry	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 38 years old	Exonerated	2007
Kenneth Oconnor	Police Officer	White male	Black male, 17 years old	Exonerated	2001
Raymond Festino	Lieutenant	White male	Hispanic female, 32 years old	Exonerated	2008
Brian Kovarik	Police Officer	White male	Other Race male, 16 years old	Exonerated	2015
Vitaliy Zelikov	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 35 years old	Unsubstantiated	2011
Joseph Durante	Sergeant	White male	Black male, 29 years old	Unsubstantiated	2009
Christian Addison	Sergeant	White male	Hispanic female, 21 years old	Exonerated	2007
Brian Benvenuto	Police Officer	White male	White male, 32 years old	Exonerated	2014
Michael Cusumano	Police Officer	White male	White male, 28 years old	Exonerated	2009

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About This Data

For decades, disciplinary records of police officers in New York have been shielded from public view. After the state recently repealed the law that had kept the records secret, ProPublica requested and received a database from New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates allegations of misconduct against NYPD officers. The database lists the name of each officer, the race of the complainant and the officer, a category describing the alleged misconduct, and whether the CCRB concluded the officers’ conduct violated NYPD rules. Police unions have opposed New York City’s plan to make public data about disciplinary investigations.

This database names about 4,000 of the NYPD’s 36,000 active-duty officers. Every officer in the database has had at least one substantiated allegation. We excluded any allegations that CCRB investigators concluded did not occur and were deemed unfounded. We also removed a small number of officers (62) against whom the CCRB had substantiated allegations, but whose substantiated allegations had not gone fully through the NYPD’s administrative prosecution process. The CCRB was not able to reach conclusions in many cases, in part because the investigators must rely on the NYPD to hand over crucial evidence, such as footage from body-worn cameras. Often, the department is not forthcoming despite a legal duty to cooperate in CCRB investigations. The CCRB gets thousands of complaints per year but substantiates a tiny fraction of them. Allegations of criminal conduct by officers are typically investigated not by the CCRB but by state or federal prosecutors in conjunction with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau or the FBI. The NYPD’s own findings in cases in this database are not included here.

Read more about what we’ve included in the database and why, and see our answers to questions we have received about this data. If you have information about any of these officers or cases, please fill out our form.

All of the records in this data are from closed cases. But if you see an error, contact the CCRB. If the agency updates its records and lets us know, we'll do so as well.

The data used in this database is downloadable from ProPublica’s Data Store.

Source

This data was obtained through a records request made to the CCRB. It includes fully investigated allegations only for officers who were members of the department as of late June 2020 and against whom the CCRB has substantiated at least one allegation.