New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference announcing a lawsuit to dissolve the ANR on August 6, 2020 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday against the New York City Police Department and New York City Police alleging that authorities used excessive force during racial justice protests in New York City. summer.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, calls for the NYPD to conduct systemic reforms that are overseen by an independent monitor. He also calls for a court to declare police actions illegal.
The 69-page file includes allegations of dozens of excessive violations of force accompanied by graphic photographs of individuals who they say were beaten and in some cases illegally detained by police.
“There is no doubt that the NYPD participated in a pattern of excessive, brutal and illegal force against peaceful protesters,” James said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit.
“Over the past few months, the NYPD has repeatedly and blatantly violated the rights of New Yorkers, causing significant physical and psychological harm and causing great mistrust in law enforcement,” James said. “Today’s demand puts an end to this usual brutal and illegal pattern of force. No one is above the law, not even the people in charge of enforcing it.”
NYPD police officers are attending demonstrators in Times Square on June 1, 2020, during a protest against “Black Life.”
Timothy A. Clary | AFP via Getty Images
The lawsuit comes months after thousands of people gathered in New York to protest police violence following the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Floyd and Taylor, both blacks, were killed by police and became symbols of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a civilian investigation into police misconduct after videos circulating showing violent clashes between seemingly peaceful protesters and law enforcement. The investigation eventually uncovered 30 incidents in which police allegedly used pepper spray and 75 in which they allegedly used irrational force.
“When the defendants, as of May 2020, chose to send thousands of inadequately trained officers to large-scale protests challenging police conduct and authority, the results were predictable: mass arrests, excessive force and others illegal efforts to suppress the protests, ”the lawsuit says.
“While many harmed protesters have sought monetary relief to resolve their injuries, this lawsuit calls for declarative and prescriptive relief, which is essential to ending New York’s illegal and unlawful practices in the United States. police protests, ”he says.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement that he had met with the attorney general on Wednesday, “and we have a common goal: to continue to push for major police reforms.”
“I couldn’t agree more that there are urgent reforms that need to be made and will be made this year, including the major discipline reforms announced with my Obama Foundation commitment, the 30 recommendations of the Department’s reports of Law and of Law, and much more, “said de Blasio.
“This work is crucial and is happening right now. A lawsuit and the added bureaucracy of a federal monitor will not speed up this work. There is no time to lose and we will continue to move forward,” he added.
A protester gestures to a NYPD officer during a “Black Lives Matter” demonstration on May 28, 2020 in New York City, in outrage over the death of a black man in Minnesota who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck for several minutes.
Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images
One of the controversial practices in which the lawsuit occurs is that it is known as a “kettle” or that it enlightens protesters and prevents them from dispersing, sometimes for hours. The lawsuit says the protesters subjected to the practice were illegally detained.
He also accuses police of routinely arresting essential workers for violating a curfew, even though they were exempt.
The lawsuit says that in one case, police arrested an overnight security guard, Zuleyka Morales, who wore a badge around her neck that identified her as an essential worker. According to the complaint, Morales decided to record a protest on his way to work after finding that the police were using quite a lot of force.
“As soon as he left a record, Morales felt someone coming after him and attacking him, throwing him to the ground. While he was on the ground, he saw an NYPD officer with three stripes on his sleeve, indicating the sergeant rank, trying to physically retain her, ”the suit says.
The lawsuit says the agent and at least two others “hit her head against the sidewalk and the street several times” while trying to explain that she was an essential worker.
“While on the ground, at least one officer obstructed his breathing by kneeling on his back and neck, so he said,‘ I can’t breathe. ’Morales repeated it several times and feared for his life. “says the lawsuit.
Morales was detained with zippers and arrested. Hours later, she lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital and was diagnosed with head bruising and bruising. She was returned to police custody and released the next morning with a criminal subpoena for violation of the curfew, according to the lawsuit.
Morales is one of more than a dozen people designated on demand as victims of alleged excessive forces or illegal detentions. The lawsuit says the excessive violations of force formed the majority of the 1,646 allegations of police misconduct that were reported between May 28 and June 20.
“The defendants knew or should have known that New York City officials had the practice of using unconstitutional excessive force to control and disperse the protests, but they did not apply their policies to end that practice,” the lawsuit says. . “According to information and belief, the defendants have not disciplined the vast majority of New York City officials who used excessive force against those attending the protest.”
The presentation comes as Democrats compare the aggressive police tactics used during racial justice protests to failed efforts to prevent a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump from raging at the Capitol last week. The riot killed at least five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer.
“No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Protestant Black Lives Matter yesterday there would not have been, they would not have been treated very differently from the crowd of thugs who stormed the Capitol,” the president said – pick Joe Biden last week in a speech after the DC riots.
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