Mark Fishman with family
New York has become increasingly adept at documenting official misconduct. It must become equally adept at correcting the consequences that growing misconduct produces.
The New York Times this week reported that New York City paid more than $117 million through 1,044 police misconduct settlements in 2025. This marks the largest number of settlements since 2019, and contributing to nearly $800 million in total payouts since then, according to a new Legal Aid Society study. Furthermore, New York ranks third nationally in documented wrongful convictions, according to the National Registry of Exonerations…