NY attorney general and civil liberties groups reach 'landmark agreement' with NYPD over protest res

Also: Attorney General James, The Legal Aid Society, and NYCLU Announce Agreement with NYPD to Reform Policing of Protests (NY State Attorney General)

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Source: CNN

NY attorney general and civil liberties groups reach ‘landmark agreement’ with NYPD over protest responses during 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations

By Celina Tebor and Brynn Gingras, CNN
Published 5:30 PM EDT, Tue September 5, 2023

(CNN) — The New York Attorney General, the Legal Aid Society, and the New York Civil Liberties Union announced what they called a “landmark agreement” with the New York Police Department that “significantly reforms” the department’s policing of protests to protect “the public and members of the press from excessive use of force,” according to a news release.

The joint agreement will allow the NYPD to “enforce the law while protecting lawful free expression,” New York Mayor Eric Adams and the police said in a press release, but one of the city’s police unions will not join the settlement.

The agreement, which resolves litigation filed by the groups “over NYPD’s wrongful arrests and excessive use of force against protesters” during demonstrations over the summer of 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s death, requires the NYPD to “change how it deploys officers to public demonstrations,” to better allow the public to exercise their first amendment rights.

It comes two months after New York agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the NYPD of using unlawful tactics against protesters following Floyd’s death at the hand of officers in Minneapolis, according to a proposed settlement filed in federal court in July.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/05/us/nypd-lawsuit-2020-protests/index.html

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Source: New York State Attorney General

Attorney General James, The Legal Aid Society, and NYCLU Announce Agreement with NYPD to Reform Policing of Protests

NYPD Required to Change its Response to Protests in New York City, Stop ‘Kettling’ and Other Excessive Use of Force Practices, and Improve Treatment of Members of the Press
Settlement Resolves AG, Legal Aid, NYCLU, and Private Lawsuits Against NYPD for its Response to 2020 Racial Justice Protests

September 5, 2023

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James, The Legal Aid Society (LAS), and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) today announced a landmark agreement with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) that significantly reforms NYPD’s policing of protests to protect the public and members of the press from excessive use of force. Today’s agreement resolves lawsuits filed by Attorney General James, LAS, NYCLU, and other private plaintiffs over NYPD’s wrongful arrests and excessive use of force against protesters during the summer of 2020. As a result of today’s agreement, NYPD will be required to change how it deploys officers to public demonstrations to allow New Yorkers to exercise their First Amendment rights free from intimidation or violence.

The centerpiece of the reforms is a new, four-tiered response system that will dictate how NYPD responds to protests, with the primary goal of protecting the rights of protesters. The tiered system will minimize police presence at protests and require NYPD to use de-escalation methods before increasing its response. The system allows for increased NYPD presence and response if protests block major traffic arteries, if protesters engage in unlawful conduct, or in other instances that could compromise public safety.

Additionally, the agreement requires NYPD to create a new, senior role within the department to oversee response to all public demonstrations. The agreement will also require NYPD to stop its use of the crowd-control tactic known as “kettling,” amend its internal discipline matrix, and improve treatment of members of the press.

To ensure accountability, a new collaborative oversight committee will review NYPD’s response to public demonstrations over a multi-year period. The agreement requires New York City to provide $1.625 million in funding to the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) and $1.45 million to support plaintiffs’ work during the oversight committee process.

“The right to peacefully assemble and protest is sacrosanct and foundational to our democracy. ...

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Read more: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-legal-aid-society-and-nyclu-announce-agreement-nypd