New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she has filed a lawsuit over NYPD’s response “during recent racial justice protests.”
According to a press release from the AG’s office:
New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and its leadership to end its pattern of using excessive force and making false arrests against New Yorkers during peaceful protests. In the complaint, Attorney General James outlines the NYPD’s illegal and harmful conduct against New Yorkers during recent racial justice protests and for years prior, which has led to significant injuries and violated individuals’ basic right to peacefully protest. The lawsuit specifically charges the NYPD, the City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, and NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan with failing to address this longstanding pattern of abuse by not properly training, supervising, and disciplining officers to prevent misconduct, despite knowledge and public admission that it violated the rights of New Yorkers.
In the complaint, Attorney General James lays out dozens of examples of the NYPD’s blatant use of excessive force and other misconduct, since May 2020, including the indiscriminate, unjustified, and repeated use of batons, pepper spray, bicycles, and a crowd-control tactic known as “kettling” against peaceful protesters — all causing protesters significant physical harm.
In May of 2020, New York City saw a series of what multiple local news agencies reported to be “violent protests” involving police cars being set on fire, assaults on police officers and the vandalizing of stores and banks.
Our landmark lawsuit outlines the @NYPDnews' years of using excessive force and making false arrests against New Yorkers, most recently during racial justice protests in 2020.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 14, 2021
This unlawful conduct has led to severe injuries and violated the basic right to peaceful protest.