The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has released a redacted list of “bad cops” who prosecutors may not want to put on the stand — the second DA office to do so.
The disclosure, obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request Wednesday, names at least 54 NYPD officers, detectives, sergeants and lieutenants whose sworn testimony has come into question by a judge — or who have had criminal cases tossed for unconstitutional searches.
Information on more than two dozen sealed cases was redacted — along with the officers’ shield numbers and the commands the serve in.
The three-page record is not a complete list of all the officers who prosecutors believe could negatively affect a case, according to the DA’s office. It was unclear how many other cops were considered questionable by prosecutors.
While the list doesn’t bar prosecutors from calling the cops to the stand, seven of those named on the list have been to excluded from testifying, the DA’s office said.
DA Eric Gonzalez said his office released 54 names after discussing the matter with the city’s Law Department, but an unknown number of names were withheld on “legal grounds.”
Gonzalez tried to appeal to cops, saying the disclosure should not be considered an attack on law enforcement.
“This is not an indictment of the thousands of dedicated officers who work in our communities and with us in partnership every day to keep the people of Brooklyn safe. That said, we take police credibility very seriously because inaccurate statements by members of law enforcement strike at the heart of our criminal justice system, cause significant harm to the public trust and may lead to wrongful convictions,” Gonzalez said.
The president Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, saw it differently and attacked Gonzalez for abandoning his job.
“They might well find an ‘out of business’ sign on the door,” PBA President Patrick Lynch said.
“He sides with the criminals, not crime victims. He knows that truthful police testimony gets thrown out every day in our courts, often based on a judge’s whims and biases.”
Lynch said he should have fought the release.
One former prosecutor, who is suing Manhattan DA’s Office for their list, lauded the public disclosure.
“The release of the Brooklyn DA list is more evidence that such evidence should be released to prevent wrongful convictions or fooling defendants to accepting plea bargains when the cop’s credibility is questionable,” Andrew Stengel, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan DA’s Office, told The Post.
In October, the Bronx DA released a heavily redacted list of 75 cops whose testimony it fears could undermine cases. The first time the five district attorney’s offices even acknowledged having these lists was in April.
In the Bronx at least three cops were named for lying. It was unclear if any of the cops named on Brooklyn’s list had lied.
The Post previously obtained internal records from the Manhattan DA that show prosecutors had red-flagged 31 NYPD officers before trial.