NYPD officer lands $175K settlement over ‘courtesy cards’ that help drivers get out of traffic stops

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer has reached a $175,000 settlement with the city in his lawsuit that illuminated the use of the “courtesy cards” that officers dole out to friends and relatives to get out of traffic stops and other minor infractions. The deal brings an end to a lawsuit brought last year by Officer Mathew Bianchi that claimed he was punished by his superiors for failing to honor the cards, though the settlement itself makes no substantive changes to how the cards are used by NYPD officers. The Staten Island-based officer said he was ousted from his job in the traffic unit and moved to a night patrol shift after he issued a ticket to a friend of the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer.