By Jennifer Peltz
Associated Press
NEW YORK — More than 800 detailed New York Police Department reports on incidents of officers firing at civilians could be disclosed within months.
City lawyers initially fought a judge’s February ruling ordering them to turn over the internal documents to the New York Civil Liberties Union. They withdrew their appeal last week.
The civil rights group sued to get reports covering officers’ shootings since 1997. The reports should include such notorious cases as the 1999 fatal shooting of an unarmed West African immigrant reaching for his wallet.
The names of the officers will be included in the reports, but not addresses and some other details. Identifying information on witnesses will vary.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the nation’s biggest police department already releases an annual rundown of every shooting, including how many shots were fired and the races of the people involved.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press