Policing in Nassau County
WSHU reporter Charles Lane has followed policing in Nassau extensively after the county vowed to reform and become more transparent and equitable. Through a mix of quick accountability stories and deep dive investigations, his reporting shows how Nassau is still far off from being transparent and fair with the public.
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In a hearing about Nassau County’s jail this week, lawmakers focused their questions on staffing levels, cutting costs and increasing visits for families. -
Nassau County lawmakers will hear testimony Wednesday on a staffing shortage at the county’s jail that critics say has created a frustrating and restrictive visiting policy — with no weekend visits, no televisits for family and evening visits just two days a week. -
The Nassau County Police Department blamed its disproportionate arrests of Black and Hispanic people on the large number of malls along the Queens-Nassau border. -
In a letter to Nassau County, Democratic state lawmakers are urging the county to respond to a report that faulted the police department for not answering calls from Spanish-speaking residents. -
Over six years when Nassau County reported zero “founded” civilian complaints for false arrest and excessive force, 30 people won court judgments against its police department for allegations of false arrest and excessive force. -
55% percent of Nassau County police’s use of force incidents are unexplained, according to an analysis by the police reform group Long Island United. -
Volunteer testers who called Nassau County police precincts and headquarters and spoke only Spanish, received help about 50% of the time, according to a new report by advocacy groups.
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According to data released by the Nassau County Police Department, fewer people are being rearrested while awaiting trial for their first alleged crime. This comes after state data last month showed that rearrests had fallen 5% in the second year of the new bail laws. -
Recently released data from New York’s court system shows that in the second year of bail reform, the number of people rearrested while awaiting trial for their first alleged crime edged down 5%. -
A Nassau County legislative committee approved legislation on Monday offering a retired Black police officer $650,000 to settle her claims of false arrest and discrimination. This comes after WSHU reported last week that Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder allegedly used a racial slur to describe the officer. -
A lawyer for the county said Commissioner Patrick Ryder denies the accusation, which was made by a now-retired police officer. -
They said Nassau police disproportionately polices nonwhite people, is not transparent about it’s data, is non-compliant with language access laws and does not have enough non-white police officers. -
The case is one of several attempting to force Nassau to release misconduct records.
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The $17,000 pay order comes as the Nassau County Police Department fights on a number of fronts to keep records secret. -
Nassau County Police officials recently blamed people from outside the county to explain racial disparities in policing. But a data analysis by WSHU and WNYC/Gothamist found those disparities persisted independent of where people came from.
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Fewer civilian complaints have been made against Nassau County police officers after the implementation of a body camera program, top brass said.
