This piece is the fifth in a series of deep dives that will take you through THE CITY’s impact and values, give you a behind-the-scenes look at our newsroom, and introduce you to our reporters.

We hope this series will move you to contribute to our year-end fundraising campaign. Reader donations make THE CITY’s work possible: we couldn’t do it without you.

Readers of THE CITY already know that we revealed that NYPD’s top uniformed officer, Jeffrey Maddrey, intervened in the case of a retired cop who was arrested for allegedly menacing three youths with a gun. 

The Civilian Complaint Review Board later found that Maddrey abused his authority. And our story may have been a factor in the resignation of former police commissioner Keechant Sewell, who disagreed with Mayor Eric Adams about whether to discipline Maddrey.

That’s the story from the headlines. But this week we’re taking readers behind the scenes.

How did we find out about Maddrey’s wrongdoing?

By combing through hours and hours of video. For months, our reporters painstakingly went through 36 videos culled from police body-worn cameras, and neighborhood and precinct house surveillance cameras.

And how did we get that video?

Here’s the behind-the-scenes secret: paperwork. That’s right. Behind many of our most exciting investigations is a whole lot of paperwork – specifically, FOIL requests.

FOIL, or Freedom of Information Law, requires public agencies to hand over certain public records upon request. Journalists rely on FOIL as a tool to force city bureaucrats to provide information crucial to our investigations.

And when an agency refuses to provide the requested information? We sue for it. 
All this requires expertise, persistence, hard work… and funds. That’s why we rely on reader . So please: donate to our year-end campaign today. Your donation will go towards FOIL fees, reporters’ time, and other expenses crucial to the investigative reporting that New Yorkers need.