A crew of 31 NYPD rookie officers, whom the city tried to boot after discovering shocking hiring errors, will now be allowed to stay on the force after the department and union officials struck a deal.
The NYPD and Police Benevolent Association settled a lengthy legal fight over the department’s attempt to purge officers and cadets it claimed were unlawfully handed badges in the last two years, despite flawed psychological evaluations and hidden criminal histories.
“I’m appreciative that we have found a path forward for these officers to protect and serve our city,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
“As the NYPD closes out the single largest hiring year on record, our department remains laser-focused on continuing to drive crime down and delivering on historic public safety gains.”
The agreement will require the impacted cops to serve 36 months of probation — an additional year on top of what is mandatory for all probationary officers — with time already spent on restricted duty not counting toward that period, law enforcement sources said.
The settlement also allows the department to consider the officers’ initial psychological disqualifications when weighing a potential punishment if one of the cops ever runs into disciplinary trouble.
Sources familiar with the deal said that both the police brass and union are satisfied with the outcome, calling it a “fair, down the middle compromise.”
“We are grateful to have reached a resolution that allows these police officers to continue their careers,” PBA president Patrick Hendry said in a statement.
“They have already proven their dedication and value on the job, and we are glad they will get the opportunity to keep protecting our city.”
The singled-out cops — hired between 2023 and 2024 under Inspector Terrell Anderson — were notified in July that they would be terminated after an internal investigation found they were illegally employed despite receiving disqualification notices during the application process.
Police said the unqualified group had histories of arrests, drug use, prostitution, and driving violations.
The PBA argued that the targeted officers had already been serving their communities with distinction and shouldn’t be canned due to a “rogue inspector,” who was reassigned amid the scandal and has since been hit with department charges, law enforcement sources said.
The firings were then put on hold as the court called for the department and PBA to reach a compromise.
The mutual truce comes as Tisch boasted a record year of hiring new officers, with more than 4,000 fresh recruits sworn in this month.
The number of New York City cops in uniform now stands at nearly 35,000, the highest since May 2022.
