By Michael Phillips
Most communities trust that misconduct by law enforcement is rare—that when it does occur, it’s a failure of an individual, not the system.
But in New Rochelle, New York, that assumption no longer holds.
Recent investigations by The Republic Dispatch, powered by FOIL disclosures, internal memos, and whistleblower emails, reveal a disturbing question that now demands statewide attention:
Is the New Rochelle Police Department a hotspot for pattern misconduct?
A Culture of Repeated Violations
At the center of the inquiry is former officer Lane Schlesinger, whose multi-year record of sustained misconduct complaints includes:
- Falsified arrest reports
- Suppressed body camera footage
- Disrespectful and hostile conduct toward the public
- Refusal to comply with court testimony duties
- Violation of COVID hospital access protocols
- Insulting and retaliatory behavior toward superiors
Yet Schlesinger isn’t just a rogue actor. His behavior was widely known, repeatedly reported by supervisors, and still tolerated and protected for years. Despite internal affairs memos, five referrals to the state Attorney General’s office, and active complaints filed with oversight entities, he was never terminated—only reassigned and quietly retired with a pension in 2024.
So the question arises: if this was tolerated for one officer, how many others?
More Than a Lone Bad Cop
FOIL documents reviewed by The Republic Dispatch include references to other officers exhibiting similar red flags:
- Officers allowed to bypass accountability after civilian complaints
- Use-of-force violations quietly buried by command staff
- Failure to follow procedures for body camera recordings
- Complaints against officers dismissed or delayed without independent review
The department’s own internal tracker, as revealed in disciplinary logs, shows multiple officers with repeat violations—many of which would meet the threshold for “pattern misconduct” under Executive Law § 75(b).
But there is no indication these referrals were ever made—except for Schlesinger.
Why Was He the Only One Referred?
New Rochelle PD made multiple referrals about Schlesinger to the NY Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEIMIO). But public records show no evidence of other referrals from the same department—despite similar patterns in conduct files.
Was Schlesinger the most egregious? Or was he the only one whose conduct became a political liability?
Some within the department suggest he became a “sacrificial name,” allowing the city to claim it was taking action without addressing broader cultural failures.
Suppression and Retaliation
Internal emails show that supervisors who attempted to discipline or remove Schlesinger faced pushback from union leadership and upper command. At one point, he refused to sign a letter of counsel, had to be physically removed from a public desk assignment, and confronted a superior in a hostile exchange captured on video.
Still, he remained on the force. Why?
Because the system bent around him—a pattern that fits into a broader phenomenon seen in departments nationwide, where problematic officers are protected until their actions become too public to ignore.
The Cost of Silence
The cost of inaction in New Rochelle wasn’t just reputational—it was human.
One of Schlesinger’s victims, Marc Fishman, was arrested based on false reports, despite court-ordered visitation supervision, and was prosecuted without ever receiving the bodycam footage that would have cleared him.
Marc wasn’t the only one harmed. He’s just the one with the persistence, evidence, and civil litigation to fight back.
But how many more citizens were misrepresented in police reports? How many were discouraged from filing complaints? How many quietly accepted unjust outcomes because the system said, “We’ve reviewed it internally”?
Pattern Misconduct, Defined
Under New York State law, “pattern misconduct” includes two or more similar complaints within five years, showing a disregard for procedure, constitutional rights, or public trust.
Schlesinger far exceeded that threshold.
And yet, according to state records, New Rochelle has submitted just one officer—Schlesinger—for pattern misconduct review.
That makes no statistical or procedural sense—unless referrals are being withheld or ignored.
A Call for Broader Review
If the state is serious about transparency, it must immediately:
- Conduct a department-wide pattern misconduct audit of New Rochelle PD
- Require full disclosure of internal affairs findings from the last 10 years
- Cross-reference sustained complaints against all officers with FOIL-obtainable court records
- Mandate public reporting of referral totals by agency to ensure equal application of Executive Law § 75(b)
Because what’s happening in New Rochelle doesn’t look like an exception.
It looks like a blueprint.
Final Word
The silence of a system does not prove its integrity—it only proves its ability to protect itself.
New Rochelle may be one of the clearest examples yet of what happens when oversight mechanisms fail, referrals are withheld, and misconduct becomes management policy.
If one officer can break every rule and walk away with a pension, how many more are protected just out of view?
#JusticeForMarcFishman
The Republic Dispatch 