It’s been a whirlwind few months for NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, at least in terms of press coverage. None of it has been positive, though.
A few months ago, reporting from ProPublica exposed Commissioner Caban’s efforts to make the NYPD even less accountable than it always has been. Public records and other information obtained by ProPublica made it clear Caban wasn’t interested in cleaning up a police department that was costing residents millions of dollars a year in the form of lawsuit settlements.
Earlier this month, things went from par-for-the-unaccountable-course to shit hitting the fan. The FBI spent a few days raiding homes and offices of city officials and direct subordinates of Mayor Eric Adams. Adams, a former NYPD officer, claimed to be unaware of any criminal activity happening under this nose — something he buttressed by stating he had repeatedly told staff and appointees to “follow the law,” which is the sort of thing you only need to say more than once when staff and appointees seem insistent on breaking the law.
One of the targets of the FBI raids was none other than Commissioner Edward Caban. It’s unclear at this point if it has anything to do with his brother, Richard Caban, who runs a bar catering to NYPD officials that has been repeatedly cited for violations of building and fire codes. Even if not, that bit of information couldn’t have helped.
With the FBI breathing down the neck of the most powerful officials in New York City, Commissioner Caban has decided to press the eject on this phase of his career, resigning his post before the city has a chance to punish him for his (alleged) involvement in whatever it is the FBI is investigating.
But he has deployed a golden-esque parachute of sorts. Not for himself, though. The officers he’s leaving behind have been given an undeserved parting gift: reduced punishment for misconduct, courtesy of a top cop who spent his short term in office doing little more than reducing punishments for misconduct. Here’s Reven Blau with the details for The City:
The NYPD has quietly reduced the suggested punishment for cops guilty of abusing authority, using offensive language, failing to take a civilian complaint, and conducting an unlawful search, THE CITY has learned.
The changes to what’s called the disciplinary matrix are dated Sept. 9, just three days before now former Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned in the middle of a federal corruption probe that has touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
The police commissioner has total control over the penalty guidelines and the mostly watered down version took effect this past Monday.
Fun stuff if you’re a misbehaving cop. And the NYPD has several of those. The matrix says less the bad stuff for bad cops, which means things that used to result in five-day suspensions are now subject to nothing more harsh than “additional training.”
The list of violations effected by the dilution of accountability ranges from the mundane to the “hey, maybe we shouldn’t let cops get away with this sort of thing.”
The categories of downgraded punishments include: violations of department rules and regulations; abuse of authority; discourtesy and offensive language; firearm-related incidents; off-duty misconduct; and prohibited conduct.
Some of these are violations best described as violations of employer policies. They should still be punished, though, and with more than some remedial training. Others are little more than “officers being assholes.” Even so, assholish-ness should be actively discouraged. Cops treating the people they serve disrespectfully can’t be handled with an extra PowerPoint presentation or two.
The worst part is Caban’s mandate also covers things are the subject of federal lawsuits:
Under the new rules, a cop guilty of an “unlawful search of premises” now can get a punishment that is nothing more than additional “training.”
This isn’t ticky-tack bullshit. This is the actual violation of constitutional rights. Treating this as a training problem is absolutely the wrong way to handle this. Certainly, re-training might be necessary but that should be on top of harsh punishments that make it extremely clear violating rights is never acceptable. And repeat offenders should be shown the door. Anything less than that is an insult to city residents, who not only have to deal with having their rights violated but are expected to cover the cost of lawsuit settlements with their taxes.
Caban’s exit and parting shot at accountability are par for the course, unfortunately. Officials who resign in the middle of outside investigations are also par for the course. Very few public officials are willing to take what’s coming to them, preferring to get out and under the radar before things get truly ugly. Caban’s exit is basically an admission of guilt. And it’s not enough for him to dodge his own personal accountability by taking the easy way out when faced with the consequences of his actions. He had to make it easier for the cops he left behind to do the same thing. These aren’t the actions of a leader. They’re the actions of a coward who loved the power but hated the responsibility.
