Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office
The Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO) protects New Yorkers’ safety and civil rights by investigating misconduct and promoting accountability of law enforcement professionals.
LEMIO has jurisdiction over New York’s more than 500 local law enforcement agencies. LEMIO investigates alleged wrongdoing, examines departmental policies and procedures, makes recommendations for reform, and publicly reports its findings.
LEMIO was created by Executive Law 75, which also imposed two new requirements on law enforcement agencies:
- Officers and employees of agencies covered by the statute must report wrongdoing to LEMIO (Executive Law 75(5)(a)).
- If an agency receives five or more complaints about the same officer or employee within two years, the agency must refer the officer or employee to LEMIO. LEMIO then must determine if the officer or employee engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct, excessive force, or dishonesty (Executive Law 75(5)(b)).
Report information about misconduct through our online complaint form. This form can be used by members of the public, as well as law enforcement officers and employees who are subject to Executive Law 75(5)(a).
Before you report misconduct to LEMIO, please report it to the involved law enforcement agency. LEMIO is required to inform agencies of allegations involving their personnel unless we determine that special circumstances require confidentiality.
We will carefully consider the information you provide. We will use your information to guide our investigative and enforcement activity. Every report we receive provides helpful input that helps guide our work, although we are unable to fully investigate each report.
We will forward your submission to the agency involved unless special circumstances require confidentiality. We may share your submission with other local, state, or federal agencies, as appropriate.
We may ask you to provide additional information as needed.
Please note that we typically will not update you on actions we have taken regarding your submission.