How do I file a complaint against a police officer in New York?

What should I do right after a bad police encounter?

The first hours matter most, because details fade and evidence gets lost.

• Write it all down now: the date, time and exact location, what was said, and the officers' names, badge numbers, patrol car numbers and agency.
• Save your video and photos: back them up somewhere other than your phone. New York's Right to Record Act says a person who is not under arrest or in custody has the right to record police activity and to keep the recording and the device (Civil Rights Law 79-p). In June 2026 the Court of Appeals held that the state and New York City right-to-record laws do not apply inside police stations, including their public lobbies.
• Get witnesses: names, phone numbers and what each person saw.
• Document injuries: photograph them over several days, get medical care, and keep every record and bill.
• Keep your paperwork: any citation, property receipt, report number or business card an officer gave you.

Justice Sentinel lets you record these details as soon as possible after the encounter, so your notes, times and evidence are already in one place when you file.

Where do I file a complaint against a New York police officer?

You can file in more than one place. Many people start with the agency and add the others that fit.

1. The officer's own department or sheriff's office

Every police department and sheriff's office takes complaints about its own officers, usually through an internal affairs or professional standards unit. Look on its website or ask at the front desk. The Attorney General's office asks people to report misconduct to the agency before coming to it.

2. A civilian review board

• New York City (NYPD): the Civilian Complaint Review Board takes complaints online, by phone, through 311, by mail, in person, or at any precinct. Anyone who saw or experienced the misconduct can file, and you do not need the officer's name or badge number.
• Syracuse: the Citizen Review Board takes complaints online in English or Spanish, by mail, or in person by appointment.
• Rochester: the police department's Professional Standards Section handles complaints ((585) 428-7131). The city's Police Accountability Board cannot currently investigate misconduct complaints: a 2025 court ruling, upheld on appeal in March 2026, took away that power, and the City Council filed a further appeal in April 2026.

3. The New York Attorney General

The Attorney General's Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO) must receive and investigate complaints "from any source" about excessive force, corruption, abuse and other misconduct by covered agencies (Executive Law 75). Covered agencies are local police departments and sheriff's offices. LEMIO does not cover the New York State Police, and Executive Law 75 also leaves out MTA and Port Authority police, which have their own inspectors general. The Attorney General's office sends State Police complaints to the New York State Inspector General. It takes reports through an online form, asks you to report to the agency first, and says it usually will not update you on what it does. It also investigates officers with repeated complaints: when one officer gets at least five complaints from five people about five incidents within two years, the agency must refer them to LEMIO, which looks for a pattern of misconduct.

• Report to LEMIO: the Attorney General's page with the online misconduct form.
• New York State Police: complaints go to the New York State Inspector General, not LEMIO.

Separately, the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation investigates every death in New York that may have been caused by a police or peace officer, and either presents the case to a grand jury or publishes a report.

4. Losing a police officer's certificate

An officer's state police certificate can be permanently invalidated when the officer is removed for cause, and agencies must report those removals to the Division of Criminal Justice Services (General Municipal Law 209-q; Executive Law 845). Invalidation follows a removal for cause, which the officer's employing agency decides, so it depends on that agency's own discipline process.

What happens after I file a police complaint?

The agency or review board investigates and reaches a finding. Under New York law, complaints and their outcomes become part of an officer's law enforcement disciplinary records, which the public can request (see below). Keep a copy of everything you send and the date you sent it.

Is there a deadline to file a police complaint in New York?

The NYC CCRB's filing page lists no deadline to file a complaint, but timing still matters. The CCRB says discipline can generally only be brought against an officer within 18 months of the incident, and its investigations can take a year or more. State civil service law sets the same general 18-month limit on starting discipline, with exceptions, such as when the misconduct would be a crime (Civil Service Law 75). Because that limit runs from the incident, filing sooner gives the investigation more time. If you face criminal charges from the encounter, consider talking to your defense lawyer before you file.

The deadlines for money damages are strict:

• Notice of claim (local government): against a city, county, town, village or other local government, or its officers or employees, generally within 90 days after the claim arises (General Municipal Law 50-e). Wrongful death claims use different timing.
• Lawsuit against a local government: within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law 50-i). Wrongful death lawsuits have two years from the death.
• Claims against the State: file the claim, or a notice of intention to file one, within 90 days, under the Court of Claims Act (section 10).
• Other state-law claims: assault, battery, false arrest (false imprisonment) and malicious prosecution generally have one year (CPLR 215), and other personal injury has three years (CPLR 214). These do not replace the 90-day notice of claim and the one year and 90 days above when the claim is against a city, county, town or village or its officers. A lawyer can tell you which limit applies.

Federal civil rights lawsuits follow different rules. A lawyer can tell you which deadlines apply to you.

How do I get police reports, discipline records and video?

Ask under New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). People often call it a FOIA request, but for New York agencies it is a FOIL request.

• Response time: the agency must respond within five business days. If it only acknowledges the request, it must grant it within 20 business days or explain the delay and give a date. You can appeal a denial within 30 days (Public Officers Law 89).
• Discipline records are public: the old secrecy law (50-a) was repealed in 2020. Law enforcement disciplinary records include complaints, the officer's name, hearing transcripts, findings and discipline (Public Officers Law 86).
• Unsubstantiated complaints and older records: in 2025 the Court of Appeals held that agencies cannot withhold unsubstantiated complaints as a group, and that the repeal reaches records made before 2020.

Justice Sentinel can generate a records request letter asking for the incident and arrest reports, body and dash camera video, dispatch logs and use-of-force reports from your incident.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

Talk to a lawyer soon if you were injured, arrested or charged, had property taken or damaged, or lost a family member, or if you think you may want money damages. The 90-day notice of claim deadline goes fast. If you face criminal charges from the encounter, consider talking to your defense lawyer before you file a complaint, because what you write could come up in your case. Legal aid offices, lawyer referral services and civil rights organizations can help you find one.

How does Justice Sentinel help you file a police complaint?

Justice Sentinel is a civil rights app that helps people document police encounters and turn what happened into a formal misconduct complaint, a public records request or a court declaration signed under penalty of perjury. You can start a draft for free; the filing-ready PDF, delivery and declaration review are paid options.

• Document the encounter: answer guided questions about what happened, and the app organizes your account, times, people and evidence.
• Misconduct complaint: a formal complaint about an officer or department, written in clear, official language, that puts your account on the record with the agency, oversight bodies or investigators.
• Public records request: a request for the incident and arrest reports, dispatch logs, use-of-force reports and messages about your incident, and body and dash camera video in states where it is a public record.
• Court declaration: a written statement of the facts that you sign under penalty of perjury. Our team reviews it for completeness and formatting and returns it to you, as a paid option. Courts have their own rules for declarations, so check them, or give it to your attorney, before you file it.
• File it yourself or have it sent: start free with a draft, then choose a paid option: download a filing-ready PDF and send it yourself, or have your complaint and records request delivered for you to the agency you choose, with tracking.
• Proof of delivery: when the agency's mail server confirms it received a complaint or records request we sent for you, you get a Certificate of Service recording when, where and what was sent, which your attorney can use as proof of delivery.
• Agency directory: look up thousands of US law enforcement agencies and start a complaint against the right one.
• Encrypted attorney messaging: if your attorney also uses Justice Sentinel, messages between the two of you in its end-to-end encrypted channel are sealed in your browser before they are sent, so Justice Sentinel can't read them.