NYPD. Photo: Bigstock

However, there's another way that New Yorkers can push for police accountability—and it involves their elected district attorneys. This form of accountability comes from “suppression” hearings held in criminal cases, where a judge decides whether an officer's conduct in a given case was constitutional or not. If the conduct is found unconstitutional, the evidence collected through such conduct is “suppressed,” or kept out of the trial. These hearings hold police accountable by disincentivizing officers from engaging in unconstitutional conduct—or else hurting their case in court.

In fact, even in hearings where the officer's actions are found to be constitutional, the procedure itself urges transparency and accountability: the officers learn that their actions and decisions are scrutinized, which creates an incentive to follow the laws and rules governing their conduct.