AG Sues NYC Over NYPD's George Floyd Protest Response

NEW YORK CITY — A lawsuit by Attorney General Letitia James argues the NYPD's violent response to the George Floyd protests revealed deep problems that warrant federal oversight.

James on Thursday unveiled the lawsuit in what she called a "major civil rights announcement." She said a probe into the NYPD's response to the protests showed an egregious abuse of police power, rampant excessive use of force and leadership unwilling or unable to stop it.

"As the demonstrations continued, the very thing being protested — aggressive actions of law enforcement — was on public display," she said.

#BREAKING: I’m filing a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department to bring an end to its pattern of repeatedly and blatantly violating the rights of New Yorkers.

No one is above the law — not even the individuals charged with enforcing it.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 14, 2021

The lawsuit filed against Mayor Bill de Blasio, the NYPD and the city seeks broad systemic reforms and a federal monitor to ensure the department and its leadership comply, James said.

James said she's also seeking a court order declaring the NYPD's response was unlawful and in violation for protesters' First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights.

Complaints about NYPD's violent response to protesters is nothing new, James said, citing past examples such as those to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.

But the George Floyd protests, by their focus on police brutality and systemic racism, drew significant attention.

James said from May to December that NYPD officers responded to the largely peaceful protests with violence.

"NYPD officers engaged in blatant use of excessive force and often misconduct, including the indiscriminate, unjustified and repeated use of batons, pepper spray, bicycles and a crowd control tactic known as 'kettling,' also referred to as 'containment,' which caused significant physical harm," she said.

Cops also unlawfully detained essential workers such as legal observers and medics during protests, James said.

In total, James' office received 1,300 complaints about the NYPD stemming from the protests.

She detailed incidents in which cops pulled a protester's goggles down to spray him with pepper spray and hit with batons that shattered one man's eye socket and split another's head open.

"These incidents are as disturbing as they are unnecessary and unlawful," she said. "The simple fact is that they are not warranted and are patently illegal."

James said there needs to be "immediate" change to the NYPD's decades-old practices and policies.

Filed Complaint Ny v Nypd 1.14.2021 by Matt Troutman on Scribd