Eduardo Cuevas is reporting for the Poughkeepsie Journal the New York Civil Liberties Union this week sued in Albany County Supreme Court the state agency overseeing prisons to obtain records related to correction officers’ misconduct. The NYCLU filed its complaint against the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, or DOCCS which oversees the state’s 44 prisons, in an effort to obtain records delayed or rejected by officials through a Freedom of Information Law request. The case was filed more than two years after the NYCLU's original request under FOIL. That request was submitted several months after New York repealed a section of the state Civil Rights Law, which was being used to shield police disciplinary records from public view for decades. “It’s about the public’s basic right to know how law enforcement agencies have been doing the work of policing themselves,” NYCLU Supervising Attorney Bobby Hodgson said. “We know that there's been a lot of problems with accountability and with transparency around what even happens.” In October 2020, NYCLU requested 20 years of documents related to disciplinary records and misconduct filings, as well as complaints against prison staff. The request also included investigative reports, policies, trainings and collective bargaining agreements. DOCCS employs more than 16,000 officers who oversee more than 30,000 people incarcerated. Read more in the Poughkeepsie Journal.