The NYPD and city lawyers have destroyed evidence in an ongoing class-action case claiming cops use a quota system when they hand out summonses, stunning new court papers claim.

Records, emails, and text messages — including one that reads “We missed seat belt number by 30 last week unacceptable” — have been shredded and deleted, even though the city agreed to hand over the information over a year ago, according to a letter filed in Manhattan federal court by plaintiffs’ lawyers.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers claim they were able to discover some documents because they obtained from third-parties emails, including one NYPD captain writing, “It is ridiculous to have 50+ hours [overtime] with only one arrest.” But the city wasn’t able to produce any of those emails, even after searching, the lawyers said.

“The production confirms what plaintiffs feared but defendants have repeatedly denied: defendants have destroyed evidence that is unquestionably relevant to this matter,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Elinor Sutton wrote in her letter.

Sutton also bashes the city for failing to turn over any emails relevant to the 2010 lawsuit penned by NYPD honchos such as ex-Commissioner Ray Kelly or ex-Chief of Department Joseph Esposito.

“It is simply not tenable that Commissioner Kelly and Chief Esposito did not — in the entire period from 2007 through the present — write or receive emails using terms such as … summons, summonses, summary, etc.,” Sutton writes in her letter.

The letter also said the NYPD destroyed or lost documents such as monthly activity reports and materials used for the chief’s review before CompStat meetings, where the NYPD scrutinizes crime statistics.

“Defendants have shredded, and are continuing to shred, hard-copy documents,” the letter states, attributing the information to an NYPD lieutenant and police officers who testified about the activity.

A letter filed by city lawyers said Quinn’s letter is “short on meritorious claims” and that the sides are in the process of scheduling mediation.

In a statement on Monday, NYPD denied destroying documents or emails, and claimed the lack of evidence supporting the case “is due to the fact that the NYPD did not and does not have a policy of mandating officers to write summonses without causes.”

The department also defended “performance goals” as not only lawful, but effective in reducing crime.

“Crime is at an all-time low because NYPD puts police officers on the street with the expectation that they enforce,” the statement said.

It continued: “We are also working closely with the Mayor and City Council on much needed reforms to the summons court system to avoid dismissals on technicalities that then lead to meritless civil cases.”