Case Disclosed

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New York’s Section 50-a Shields Law Enforcement Records

In 2011, Rikers Island guard Aubrey Victor was videotaped repeatedly kicking and stomping on the head of a 16-year-old inmate as he lay on the floor. An internal investigation found that Victor had used excessive and potentially deadly force. This finding would normally have never become public because of Section 50-a, a provision of the New York State civil rights law that shields the personnel records of law enforcement officers from public disclosure.