Activist accuses NYPD of leaking rape details in smear campaign
A police reform activist accused the New York Police Department (NYPD) of leaking details of her rape in a new lawsuit filed Monday.
Dana Rachlin accused members of the NYPD of engaging in “multiple acts of retaliation” against her after she criticized the promotion of some officers in the department.
According to the lawsuit, confidential information about her 2017 sexual assault was leaked to community leaders and included false allegations that she made up the assault and falsely accused a Black man of raping her. The lawsuit alleges that this information was later included in two letters sent to police officers and other city officials in 2022.
Rachlin alleges that the information spread to community leaders was defamatory. The letters also allegedly included personal details, including her home address, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not name who may have circulated the letters.
“Following a well-documented series of such issues, Defendant NYPD Members widely disseminated Ms. Rachlin’s private information, including her home address, the race of her assailant, and the fact that she had reported her 2017 rape to the Department, alongside demonstrably false and defamatory accusations against her,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit was first reported by The City.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department is aware of the lawsuit and has reviewed it in a statement to The Hill.
“While we believe it has no merit, we will not comment further on pending litigation,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for New York City Hall said it will review the lawsuit.
“We hold everyone at the NYPD to the highest standards and their hard work delivering for New Yorkers speaks for itself. Since the start of this administration, some of the most violent crimes, including homicides and shootings, are down, and crime reductions continue to trend in the right direction with overall crime being down year to date,” the spokesperson said.
Rachlin, the executive director of NYC Together, had developed a collaborative relationship with the NYPD to help young people enrolled in her program, according to the complaint. NYC Together is a foundation that helps provide resources and care to young people who are at an increased risk of violence.
Rachlin said she was a victim of sexual assault by an acquaintance in 2017 after she attended an event where some members of the NYPD were also in attendance. NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, named as a defendant in the lawsuit, had visited Rachlin while she was at the hospital at the time and urged her to file a police report of the rape, according to the lawsuit.
She said she was initially hesitant to file a police report but ultimately decided to do so, the lawsuit states. According to the lawsuit, Maddrey assured her that her identity would be kept confidential and that only a few detectives would handle the investigation.
The complaint notes that Rachlin ultimately decided not to pursue charges against her alleged assailant and that the NYPD’s case file indicated that the case was closed.
The lawsuit states that Rachlin voiced her concerns in 2020 about Inspector Craig Edelman, who was the commanding officer of the 73rd Precinct at the time. Edelman was later transferred to a new role as deputy inspector after Rachlin and other community leaders raised concerns about his conduct, according to the lawsuit.
Rachlin alleged that in 2021, she was denied access to police precincts and “was forced to rearrange her practice to avoid areas where she was at stated risk of reprisal by Defendants.” The lawsuit alleges that NYPD members perceived her as responsible for “sparking Defendant Edelman’s transfer” and “escalated their retaliation" against her.