Steven Lee spent 16 years building a career in the New York City Police Department, ultimately rising to the rank of Sergeant. He dedicated 18 months of that service undercover, tasked by the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) to root out corruption in the Queens 109th Precinct.1 His reward for delivering definitive proof of a high-stakes protection racket involving bribery, prostitution, and high-ranking officers? Systematic harassment, the loss of his career, and time spent "jailed with killers at Rikers".

Lee’s ordeal stands as irrefutable evidence that when police corruption is systemic, the institution will prioritize self-preservation over justice, turning its weapons on the very officer sworn to uphold the law. Now, the decorated former Sergeant is fighting to reverse his criminal conviction, restore his lost pension, and force New York’s top state officials to dismantle the institutional structures that enabled his betrayal.

The Proof Ignored: A Protection Racket and the Systemic Retaliation

Lee’s undercover work in the 109th Precinct’s Conditions Unit was meticulously documented. He collected secret audio tapes proving that high-ranking NYPD cops, organized crime figures, and an ex-cop were running a lucrative scheme to coerce local karaoke bars into a protection racket.1

When Lee delivered this evidence, the Internal Affairs Bureau—the official watchdog—betrayed him, deciding to “elect not to pursue” the case.1 The resulting persecution, described in his Queens Supreme Court lawsuit 4 as a “campaign to harass, defame, threaten [and] intimidate him,” escalated from professional marginalization to the ultimate act of institutional destruction: his termination, conviction, and incarceration.1

His attorney, former NYPD officer Joe Murray, observed that Lee’s experience confirmed a pattern of systemic isolation and punishment against those who challenge authority, noting that Lee felt as though he was “reliving it”.1

The Core Thesis: Why Police Cannot Police Themselves

Steven Lee’s struggle provides a devastating real-world validation for his central reform thesis: “You can’t have cops watching cops”.1 He argues that the culture of internal discipline functions less as a mechanism for justice and more as a “gang” 1 where loyalty is enforced through initiation and fierce retribution against whistleblowers.

“To fix modern policing, we must root out the systematic corruption and end the cycle of self-policing,” Lee insists.

The Blueprint: Trained Oversight and Compassionate Enforcement

Lee’s plan for criminal justice reform is not just a critique; it is a comprehensive blueprint for an ethical, accountable, and effective police force. His vision rests on four non-negotiable pillars:

1. Empowered, Independent Public Oversight: Lee demands that civilian oversight mechanisms be completely separate from the NYPD and its Internal Affairs Bureau.5 Crucially, he specifies that this oversight must be staffed by trained public citizens who possess certified law enforcement experience [User Query]. This measure ensures the civilian body has the technical competence to investigate complex police procedures and override institutional defenses, preventing the “Blue Wall” from dismissing external scrutiny.

2. Balanced, Ethical Enforcement: Lee advocates for a tough, yet empathetic approach. Policing must be uncompromisingly “hard on crime and criminals,” ensuring dangerous individuals are removed from communities, but simultaneously mandate that officers be “protecting and being compassionate and sympathetic to the innocent” [User Query].

3. Community as Partner, Not Adversary: Lee argues that officers must work “along side the community and public instead of seeing them as the enemy” [User Query]. This shift in culture is essential for building the mutual trust necessary for effective public safety.

The Call for State Intervention: Justice for Lee, Justice for New York

Lee’s fight to reclaim his pension—which New York law requires be retroactively restored upon a final determination that reverses or vacates the underlying criminal conviction—is now a direct challenge to the state’s commitment to justice.

Restitution in his case requires not only overturning the wrongful conviction and obtaining reinstatement, back pay, and benefits through whistleblower litigation, but also a systemic acknowledgment of the institutional failure that made him a target.

To compel this systemic change and secure justice for Sergeant Lee, decisive action is needed from New York’s highest legal and executive authorities:

• Attorney General Letitia James must activate the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO) 6 to launch a pattern-or-practice investigation into the NYPD's history of retaliating against whistleblowers and failing to hold high-ranking officers accountable.6

• Governor Kathy Hochul must use her executive authority to audit the NYPD’s adherence to state reform mandates and impose rigorous, transparent compliance mechanisms to ensure that the department’s internal leadership cannot continue to dismiss integrity for the sake of institutional self-preservation.7

The choice for New York is clear: continue to protect the internal corruption that punishes integrity, or side with the champion who sacrificed everything—his career, his freedom, and his reputation—to serve the public good. Steven Lee is fighting for his pension, but he is fundamentally fighting for a new era of police accountability that New York City desperately needs.