New York partner William Kuntz, II, appeared on January 14 on CUNY TV's "City Talk" program, a show which focuses New York City politics and civic affairs. CUNY TV, part of The City University of New York, is a non-commercial cable station serving the five boroughs of New York City.
Kuntz discussed the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the independent agency which is empowered to receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action on complaints against New York City police officers. Kuntz is the longest standing member of the CCRB (appointed in 1987) which annually reviews over 5,000 allegations of misconduct filed against members of the police department.
Kuntz provided information on the history of the CCRB, its membership, structure and mission, as well as the process of how complaints are reviewed, evaluated and investigated. According to Kuntz, if the CCRB substantiates a claim, meaning they found the allegation(s) were, in fact, proven, they then would refer the case to the police commissioner and recommend a level of discipline.
Asked whether he believes the relationship between the CCRB and NYPD is symbiotic and that the CCRB "makes the NYPD a better product," Kuntz said, "We believe that. We know that the NYPD values the information that we provide . . . because the police department wants to know if their officers are behaving appropriately or not."
Asked to comment on the significant increase from 2002 to 2006 in the number of complaints filed, Kuntz said that a number of factors may have contributed to the increase, not the least of which are the tremendous advances in technology, which allow individuals to use cell phones to photograph or record video of alleged police misconduct, as well as allowing people to very easily and quickly contact the CCRB to file a complaint.
To view a video of the entire interview, posted on the CUNY-TV website, click here (Real Player required).