New York AG sues NYPD, city for excessive force over racial justice protests

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday against the New York Police Department and the City of New York City, alleging that authorities used excessive force during the racial justice protests of the summer.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, calls on the NYPD to undertake systemic reforms that will be overseen by an independent observer. He also asks that a court declare the actions of the police illegal.

The 69-page dossier includes allegations of dozens of excessive force violations accompanied by graphic photographs of individuals who she says have been beaten and, in some cases, illegally detained by police.

“There is no question that the NYPD has engaged in a pattern of excessive, brutal and illegal force against peaceful protesters,” James said in a statement accompanying the trial.

“Over the past few months, the NYPD has repeatedly and blatantly violated the rights of New Yorkers, inflicting significant physical and psychological damage and leading to great mistrust of law enforcement,” James said. . “With today’s trial, this long-standing pattern of brutal and illegal force comes to an end. No one is above the law – not even those charged with enforcing it.”

The trial comes months after thousands of people gathered in New York City to protest police violence following the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Floyd and Taylor, both black, were killed by police and became symbols of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for a civilian investigation into the police misconduct after videos were released showing violent clashes between apparently peaceful protesters and law enforcement. The investigation ultimately revealed 30 incidents in which police allegedly used pepper spray and 75 in which they allegedly used unreasonable force.

“When the defendants, from May 2020, chose to send thousands of under-trained officers to large-scale protests challenging police conduct and authority, the results were predictable: mass arrests, excessive force and other illegal efforts to quell protests, ”lawsuit reads.

“While many aggrieved protesters have demanded monetary redress to repair their injuries, this lawsuit seeks only declaratory and injunctive relief – redress that is imperative to end the decades-long illegal practice of the NYPD,” said -he.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement he met with the attorney general on Wednesday, “and we have one common goal: to continue to drive major police reforms.”

“I could not agree more that there are urgent reforms that must – and will be – made this year, including the major disciplinary reforms announced with my commitment from the Obama Foundation, the 30 recommendations of the reports. from the DOI and Legal Department, and more, ”said de Blasio.

“This work is essential and is happening now. A judicial process and the additional bureaucracy of a federal comptroller will not expedite this work. There is no time to waste and we will continue to move forward.” , he added.

A controversial practice the trial focuses on is known as “kettling,” or bringing protesters together and not allowing them to disperse, sometimes for hours on end. The trial says the protesters subjected to the practice were illegally detained.

He also accuses police of regularly arresting essential workers for violating a curfew, when they were exempt from it.

The suit indicates that in one case, police arrested a night security guard, Zuleyka Morales, who was wearing a badge around her neck identifying her as a critical worker. According to the complaint, Morales decided to tape a protest on his way to work after noticing that the police were using significant force.

As soon as she pressed the record, Morales felt someone come from behind her and attack her, throwing her to the ground. While on the ground, she saw an NYPD officer with three bands on her sleeve, indicating the rank of sergeant, trying to physically restrain her, ”the costume says.

The costume says the policeman and at least two others “banged their heads against the sidewalk and the street on several occasions” as she tried to explain that she was an essential worker.

“While she was on the ground, at least one officer obstructed her breathing by kneeling on her back and neck, so she said, ‘I can’t breathe.’ Morales repeated this several times and feared for his life, ”the costume says.

Morales was restrained with restraints and arrested. A few hours later, she lost consciousness and was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a head bruise and bruising. She was taken back into custody and released the next morning with a criminal summons for violating the curfew, according to the lawsuit.

Morales is one of more than a dozen individuals named in the lawsuit as victims of allegations of excessive force or unlawful detention. The lawsuit says excessive force violations made up the majority of the 1,646 allegations of police misconduct reported between May 28 and June 20.

“The defendants knew or should have known that New York Police officers used to use excessive and unconstitutional force to control and disperse protests, but did not follow its policies to end the practice “, says the trial. “Based on information and belief, the defendants failed to sanction the vast majority of New York City police officers who used excessive force against protest participants.”

The filing comes as Democrats compare aggressive police tactics used during racial justice protests to unsuccessful efforts to stop a host of supporters of President Donald Trump from ransacking Capitol Hill last week. The riot killed at least five people, including a US Capitol Police officer.

“No one can tell me that if a group of Black Lives Matter had protested yesterday, there wouldn’t have been – they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently from the mob of thugs who stormed the Capitol Building, ”President -elect Joe Biden said last week in an address after the DC riots.