NYPD Detective David Terrell: Payouts, Hernandez, and Tisch Suit

David Terrell is a retired NYPD detective who spent most of his nearly 24-year career at the 42nd Precinct in the South Bronx, where he became one of the department’s most prolific arrest-makers and one of its most-sued officers. He accumulated at least 20 civil lawsuits, dozens of civilian complaints, and roughly $877,000 in documented city settlements tied to his conduct. His service ended in May 2026 during a disciplinary case over an alleged information leak, and he has since sued the City of New York and Commissioner Jessica Tisch, alleging the discipline was retaliatory.¹²

Who David Terrell Is

Terrell joined the NYPD in July 2002. He served as a patrol officer at the 42nd Precinct in the Bronx and the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn before being promoted to detective, eventually holding the rank of Detective Specialist and working as a field intelligence officer at the 42nd, where he specialized in gang investigations.¹³

By his own account and reporting from Type Investigations, Terrell averaged roughly 62 arrests per year, far above the department norm of 12 to 24.⁴ That volume made him polarizing. Detectives’ Endowment Association president Paul DiGiacomo said the complaints against Terrell were the predictable byproduct of aggressive policing in a high-crime area and that local gang members had specifically targeted him with frivolous lawsuits to force a transfer.⁵ Private investigator Manuel Gomez told a different story, alleging that Terrell led a ring of corrupt officers who framed suspects, coerced witnesses into false identifications, and brutalized residents.

Civilian Complaints and What Was Substantiated

Between 2003 and 2016, the Civilian Complaint Review Board logged 34 complaints containing 85 separate allegations against Terrell, according to THE CITY’s analysis of CCRB data.⁵ A New York Post tally put the figures at 38 complaints and 89 allegations.⁶ The allegations ranged from excessive force and chokehold use to threats of arrest, strip searches, discourtesy, and race-based offensive language.⁷

Four allegations were substantiated:

Refusal to show a search warrant in June 2015, which drew Command Discipline B. The CCRB found Terrell had given a “false official statement” about the suspect’s ability to read the warrant; the suspect was legally blind.⁴
Refusal to provide name or shield number and verbal discourtesy in July 2009, both substantiated, with formal charges recommended.⁷
Refusal to provide name or shield number in August 2006, substantiated, resulting in instructions.⁷

The remaining allegations were largely unsubstantiated, exonerated, or closed because complainants were uncooperative or unavailable. In two high-profile 2016 complaints involving the Cotto brothers, the CCRB determined Terrell was not even involved in the incidents described.⁶

Terrell’s badge and gun were stripped in mid-2016, and he was reassigned to Manhattan Central Booking and later the Manhattan Court Section, where he remained for the rest of his NYPD career.³

Lawsuits and What the City Paid Out

By 2020, Terrell had been named in 20 civil lawsuits alleging misconduct including excessive force, false arrest, and brutality.⁸ At least eight of those cases resulted in city settlements totaling roughly $877,000:

$609,000 in Reed, Jateik, et al. v. City of New York (2013), stemming from a 2012 incident at the 42nd Precinct stationhouse where officers were accused of assaulting family members who came to check on an arrested teenager.⁹
$95,000 in Washington v. City of New York.
$66,000 in Swinton, Jamel v. City of New York (2017).
$45,000 in S.S. v. City of New York.
$25,000 in Carter v. City of New York.
$20,000 in Barber, Patricia v. City of New York (2016).
$9,000 in Coleman, Ryan v. City of New York (2017).
$7,500 in Delacruz, Dalila v. City of New York (2013).¹

Terrell and his attorney, Eric Sanders, consistently emphasized that most lawsuits against him did not survive. By early 2020, Terrell said 18 of the 20 suits had been resolved, with many thrown out by judges.⁸ A January 2019 Daily News report noted that close to a dozen suits had been “systematically thrown out” in the prior year.¹⁰ Sanders described the complaints as the work of criminals exploiting the civil system: “Who cares if he gets complaints? He’s an active cop. The more you interact with criminals, the more complaints you get.”⁵

The Pedro Hernandez Case

The most publicly prominent allegation against Terrell involved Pedro Hernandez, a Bronx teenager who spent more than a year on Rikers Island after being arrested in July 2016 in connection with a 2015 shooting. Hernandez could not afford the $250,000 bail; it was later reduced, and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization posted $100,000 to secure his release in July 2017.¹¹ The Bronx District Attorney’s office eventually dismissed the case, saying it could not prove the charges.¹²

Manuel Gomez championed Hernandez’s cause and alleged that Terrell had pressured 2015 shooting victim Shawn Nardoni to falsely identify Hernandez as the gunman.¹³ Terrell denied any involvement in the arrest and called the allegations “laughable.” U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by Hernandez and his mother against Terrell in January 2019, citing the plaintiffs’ failure to participate in discovery.¹⁰ Hernandez later filed a new lawsuit, which remained ongoing as of the most recent reporting.⁴

How His Career Ended in 2026

In early 2026, the NYPD charged Terrell with unauthorized database access and dissemination of confidential information. The department alleged that Terrell had looked up a complaint report concerning an alleged sexual assault inside One Police Plaza after social media personality Salvatore “Sal” Greco publicly referenced the incident on his platform, The Sal Greco Show, and that Terrell then confirmed the report’s existence to Greco.¹⁴ Terrell was served with charges and specifications under CHIA No. 2026-986 and suspended for 30 days without pay.²

Sanders responded on April 27, 2026, with a formal legal demand calling the charges “legally defective, factually unsupported, and structurally unreliable.” He argued that the NYPD had produced no evidence Terrell actually disclosed any specific information, had never interviewed Greco (the alleged recipient of the leak), and was relying entirely on “timing, inference, and assumption.” Sanders further contended that investigating a reported sexual assault at headquarters was a protected workplace-safety inquiry, not misconduct.¹⁴

Terrell’s NYPD service ended in May 2026.¹ According to his later complaint, the charges were never tried, never proven, and never resulted in a guilty finding before his departure. Even so, the complaint alleges, the NYPD treated the unresolved allegations as established misconduct, denied him a “Good Guy Letter,” issued only a restricted retired identification card, and withheld his terminal leave and other earned benefits.²

The Lawsuit Against Commissioner Tisch

On June 20, 2026, Terrell filed a human rights lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, against the City of New York, Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and numerous individual defendants including Internal Affairs Bureau investigators and the Detectives’ Endowment Association. The suit alleges violations of the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law, specifically race discrimination, retaliation, and interference.²

The central allegation is that Commissioner Tisch harbored personal animosity toward Sanders, Greco, and The Sal Greco Show, and that this bias drove the disciplinary process. The complaint says Tisch stated she “hated” those individuals and that the leak investigation was a pretext to punish Terrell for his perceived association with them. The lawsuit also alleges that the Internal Affairs investigators who handled the case acted as “investigative proxies” who coordinated with superiors during interviews rather than conducting an independent inquiry.²

As of the filing, the defendants had not yet answered the allegations, and no court had made findings on the merits.

1
50-a.org. Officer Profile: David R. Terrell
2
The Sanders Firm PC. Retired NYPD Detective David R. Terrell Files Human Rights Lawsuit
3
New York Daily News. Bronx Detective Says He’s Being Targeted by NYPD Bosses Over Abuse Claims Against Him
4
Type Investigations. Broken Justice in the 42
5
THE CITY. NYPD Complaint Files, Unions, Police, New York City
6
New York Post. Monster Cop Wasn’t Working at the Time of Alleged Beatings: Review Board
7
ProPublica. NYPD CCRB Officer Profile: David Terrell
8
New York Post. Oft-Sued NYPD Detective David Terrell, Declaring Victory One Suit at a Time
9
New York Daily News. Bronx NYPD Precinct Beating, Wrongful Arrest Accusations Have Cost City $2.44M
10
New York Daily News. Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against NYPD Detective Filed by Pedro Hernandez
11
New York Daily News. Bronx Honor Student Pedro Hernandez Heads to Trial
12
NY1. Detective Criticizes NYPD Wrongful Arrest Case of Bronx Teen Pedro Hernandez
13
New York Post. Monster NYPD Officer: I’m a Victim of de Blasio’s Anti-Cop Agenda
14
The Sanders Firm PC. NYPD Disciplinary Case Against Detective David Terrell Exposes Systemic Failure