Albany Police Union responds to review board lawsuit

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Community Police Review Board (CPRB) sued the city, the police department, and the union. NEWS10 spoke with the Police Benevolent Association’s president for more on the investigation.

After George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Local Law J in Albany was amended in 2021 to give the CPRB subpoena power to investigate claims.

The lawsuit alleged that, on two separate occasions in the summer of 2023, officers failed to comply with subpoena requests. It claimed that the police union directed officers to ignore those subpoenas. It also addressed the officers’ obligation to adhere to subpoenas from CPRB.

“There's clearly a legal debate between us and the CPRB as to whether they can offer Garrity rights, confidentiality, and other things,” said Mike Delano, President of the Albany Police Benevolent Association. He says the union isn’t cooperating out of concerns over those rights.

Garrity protects officers from incriminating themselves while being investigated by the CPRB. He says transparency is a top priority, but the board is going too far. “This is not about oversight. This is about control--power and control of the process. That's what they're looking for, they want unfettered access to everything,” said Delano.

In a statement, the New York Civil Liberties Union said there is no such thing as accountability without transparency, saying in part: “The APD's refusal suggests the department sees itself as above the law, subject to no oversight, and unanswerable to the community it serves.”

NEWS10 has reached out to the city for comment. The mayor’s office and corporation counsel both say they cannot talk about ongoing litigation. We also reached out to the Community Police Review Board and their attorney. We are awaiting those responses.