Will the latest findings from investigative journalist Michael Hayes neuter NYPD & police? It is clear that it should.
Michael Hayes exposes NYPD
In 2018, investigative reporter #MichaelHayes broke a major story revealing how the New York Police Department was not only turning a blind eye but had allowed hundreds of police officers who committed severe misconduct to remain on the force. Hayes provides an unprecedented breakdown of how a powerful network of #police unions, lawyers, and top brass continuously shielded police officers from any real accountability in his book, The Secret Files: Bill de Blasio, the NYPD and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.
Hayes offers an in-depth look at the lack of an effective response to the problem from those in power, especially then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“At its core, this book is about the broken promise of police reform in New York City. After Eric Garner was killed in 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to increase accountability for NYPD officers who broke the rules. The Secret Files shows in explicit detail that despite these promises, top city officials and police department brass have allowed cops who committed the most egregious misconduct — from lying in court to fatally shooting citizens — to continue to skirt full responsibility for their actions.”
Furthermore, Hayes makes a compelling case for the limits of reform in the wake of the major Black Lives Matter rallies that followed the murder of George Floyd and growing calls to defund the police.
Hayes’s earlier reporting also had a profound effect on the public perception of Civil Rights law 50-a, which is a state law allowing the secrecy of police misconduct files. The state legislature ultimately repealed the law in 2020, opening the door for increased accountability and transparency for police officers. In The Secret Files, Hayes examines the ramifications of this legislative change and finds that still little progress has been made:
“I wanted to revisit this topic and see how, in the years since the law was struck down, the NYPD has responded. Unfortunately, what my latest reporting shows is that they are still keeping a tremendous amount of information about cops who committed serious misconduct very much a secret.”
Hayes takes readers through decades of police corruption and controversial laws, looking at how we do—and do not— hold police responsible in America. Following the transition from de Blasio to current Mayor Eric Adams earlier this year, Hayes also looks to the future of the NYPD, detailing how an emerging activist network is gaining ground and eager to finally hold the officers, the department, and the city accountable.
Who is Michael Hayes?
Michael Hayes has reported on the policies and practices of police departments in America, covered major criminal trials across the country, including the death penalty cases of Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, and written about everything from mass shootings to presidential elections. In 2019, he was named a finalist for the prestigious Livingston Award for Young Journalist and Deadline Club Award for his investigative reporting on the NYPD’s secret disciplinary files. Michael’s work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, including ProPublica, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, The Appeal, Gothamist, CNN, and WNYC. Michael grew up in New England and went to college at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Ryan, and their two sons, Caleb and Elliott.