According to reports, a detective with the New York Police Department in Staten Island was fired after its internal affairs division discovered he had improper relationships with five women, three of whom he had arrested in the past. The officer, Brooks Ingram, then lied about those affairs when questioned by members of the internal affairs office.
“[He] appeared to view his work as an opportunity to meet potential dates,” NYPD Assistant Deputy Commissioner Anne E. Stone wrote in the letter recommending his termination. “His conduct and attempts to manipulate the truth illustrate a stunning lack of judgment.” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch signed off on the decision.
Ingram, who joined the force in 2017, came under suspicion in January 2023 after a woman who was arrested pointed at Ingram afterward and claimed he dated her mother and “did things for her,” per the documents of the police disciplinary trial. NYPD rules forbid officers having personal relationships with witnesses or those they’ve arrested.
An investigation found that the woman had been arrested by Ingram after a traffic stop in 2017, and that the two were in a sexual relationship afterward. That woman was arrested 28 times for felonies and misdemeanors. Ingram was also found to have been sexually involved with two other women – the first a former high school classmate, the other a childhood friend he arrested in 2022; in one of those cases, he shared information in a Bronx assault case where she was the victim, with her.
The investigation further revealed that Ingram performed 20 unauthorized searches in police databases and gave information to women he was sleeping with. When confronted with the information by the Internal Affairs Division, Ingram initially became evasive until confessing. Prosecutors in the disciplinary trial also revealed that Ingram broke NYPD rules by living in his precinct on Staten Island, and was observed avoiding a toll on the Verazzano Bridge and cutting off drivers at red lights. He was demoted from detective in 2024, and was fired Nov. 21 last year.
