UWS NYPD Capt Has More Than 20 Allegations Against Him Since 2006

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The commanding officer of the NYPD's 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side has amassed 21 allegations against him during his time as a New York City police officer, according to a new database published by ProPublica.

The allegations against Police Capt. Neil Zuber range from "physical force" to "abuse of authority" to "offensive language" relating to ethnicity. They also include two concerning performing chokeholds on Black men, with one of the chokehold allegations occurring as recently as July 2019.

Zuber told Patch he was not able to comment on the matter due to ongoing litigation.

Patch also received a statement from the NYPD Deputy Commissioner's Office of Public Information about ProPublica's database:

"The NYPD has for many years worked to increase transparency to gain the trust of the communities we serve. While we remain committed to increased transparency, we are equally committed to due process," said Sergenant Mary Frances O'Donnell, a NYPD Deputy Commissioner's Office of Public Information spokesperson. "While recent legislation repealed NYS Civil Rights Law Section 50a, a federal judge issued a restraining order prohibiting the release of records of which allegations against our officers were found to be false, unfounded or unsubstantiated. We await the results of pending litigation."

Out of the 21 total allegations against Zuber, the Civilian Complaint Review Board ruled that two were "substantiated," seven were "exonerated" and 12 were "unsubstantiated."

A single complaint received from a civilian can include multiple allegations.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board defines those three terms as the following, according to ProPublica:

• Substantiated: "The alleged conduct occurred and it violated the rules."
• Exonerated: "The alleged conduct occurred but did not violate the NYPD's rules, which often gives officers significant discretion over use of force."
• Unsubstantiated: "The CCRB has fully investigated but could not affirmatively conclude both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules."

Information regarding disciplinary records of all NYPD officers became public after a change in state law in June. ProPublica, a nonprofit independent journalism organization, then created a searchable database containing those records.

Before becoming captain of the 20th Precinct, Zuber worked in the 32nd Precinct in Harlem, Washington Heights' 34th Precinct and the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills, Queens.

The allegations against Zuber all came before he arrived on the Upper West Side. He was made the commanding officer of the 20th Precinct in February this year.

Seven allegations were made in the 112th Precinct. Five were made in the 34th Precinct and four were made in the 32nd Precinct. One was made in the 40th Precinct and four were also made in the 114th Precinct.

Out of the eight total complaints made against Zuber, four of them related to incidents involving a Black man, three involved Hispanic men and one involved a white woman.

Two allegations related to performing a chokehold, the first in 2013 when he was a lieutenant in the 112th Precinct.

The allegations of the incident include a "chokehold," a "hit against an inanimate object," the use of unnecessary "physical force," and the "abuse of authority" against a 20-year-old- Black man, according to ProPublica.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board ruled that the chokehold, hit against an inanimate object, and use of physical force allegations were unsubstantiated, but it determined that the abuse of authority in the search of a person was substantiated.

The second claim of an incident involving Zuber, a Black man and a chokehold happened in July 2019.

At the time Zuber was a captain in the 32 Precinct. He was accused of two counts of using unnecessary physical force and a chokehold in an incident with a 20-year-old Black man.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board determined that one count of the physical force and the chokehold were unsubstantiated, and it exonerated him on the second allegation of unnecessary physical force.

The use of chokeholds by NYPD police officers has long been debated in the city.

In June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a repeal of a law — known as 50-a — that officially banned the use of chokeholds by officers. Before the law was passed this summer, chokeholds were banned under NYPD policy but were not illegal.

The other significant change from Cuomo's repeal of 50-a revolved around the issue of transparency.

A section of the law allowed the New York Police Department to bar access to disciplinary records of officers. The repeal of the law permitted the information to become public, which led to ProPublica's ability to create the "NYPD Files."

The NYPD Files allows users to search thousands of civilian complaints against New York City police officers by precinct, name or badge number.

Here is a full breakdown of the complaints filed against Upper West Side Police Capt. Neil Zuber, according to ProPublica's database:

Complaint Received In July 2019

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Captain
• Precinct Occurred In: 32
• Officer Details: White male, 42 years old
• Complainant Details: Black male, 20 years old
• Allegation 1: Force: Physical Force — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 2: Force: Chokehold — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 3: Force: Physical — CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated

Complaint Received In September 2017

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Captain
• Precinct Occurred In: 32
• Officer Details: White male, 40 years old
• Complainant Details: Black male, 21 years old
• Allegation 1: Force: Physical Force — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated

Complaint Received In November 2015

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Lieutenant
• Precinct Occurred In: 40
• Officer Details: White male, 39 years old
• Complainant Details: Black male, 36 years old
• Allegation 1: Abuse of Authority: Retaliatory arrest — CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated

Complaint Received In May 2013

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Lieutenant
• Precinct Occurred In: 114
• Officer Details: White male, 36 years old
• Complainant Details: Black male, 20 years old
• Allegation 1: Force: Chokehold — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 2: Force: Hit against inanimate object — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 3: Force: Physical Force — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 4: Abuse of Authority: Search Of Person — CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated

Complaint Received In March 2010

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Sergeant
• Precinct Occurred In: 34
• Officer Details: White male, 33 years old
• Complainant Details: Hispanic male, 16 years old
• Allegation 1: Force: Physical Force — CCRB Conclusion Exonerated

Complain Received In July 2009

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Sergeant
• Precinct Occurred In: 34
• Officer Details: White male, 32 years old
• Complainant Details: Hispanic male, 26 years old
• Allegation 1: Force: Physical Force — CCRB Conclusion Exonerated

Complaint Received In March 2008

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Sergeant
• Precinct Occurred In: 34
• Officer Details: White male, 31 years old
• Complainant Details: Hispanic male, 26 years old
• Allegation 1: Abuse of Authority: Property Damage — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 2: Abuse of Authority: Stop — CCRB Conclusion Exonerated
• Allegation 3: Abused of Authority: Search of a Person — CCRB Conclusion Exonerated

Complaint Received In August 2006

• Officer: Neil Zuber
• Rank at the Time of Incident: Police Officer
• Precinct Occurred In: 112
• Officer Details: White male, 29 years old
• Complainant Details: White female, 56 years old
• Allegation 1: Abuse of Authority: Threat of Force — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 2: Abuse of Authority: Vehicle Stop — CCRB Conclusion Exonerated
• Allegation 3: Abuse of Authority: Threat of Summons — CCRB Conclusion Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 4: Force: Other — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 5: Discourtesy: Word — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
• Allegation 6: Force: Gun Pointed — CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
• Allegation 7: Offensive Language: Ethnicity — CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated