New York City Agrees to Pay $13 Million in Civil Rights Lawsuit Settlement
A recent civil rights lawsuit settlement has seen New York City agree to pay more than $13 million to resolve a case filed on behalf of approximately 1,300 individuals who were arrested or assaulted by the police during demonstrations against racial injustice in the summer of 2020. The settlement, filed in Manhattan federal court, is expected to be one of the largest payouts ever awarded in a mass arrest litigation.
Expensive Payout in Mass Arrest Litigation
Legal experts have highlighted that the settlement in this civil rights lawsuit is set to be among the most expensive payouts in mass arrest litigation history. The lawsuit focused on 18 specific protests that took place in New York City following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Each individual who was arrested or experienced violence at these events is entitled to $9,950 in damages, with some exceptions.
By agreeing to this settlement, the city of New York will be able to avoid a costly and politically sensitive trial. This agreement is one of several reached as a result of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, with other cities across the United States also negotiating their own settlements with protesters who took to the streets to denounce racist police brutality.
Allegations of Stripping First Amendment Rights
According to attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild, who represented the plaintiffs in this civil rights lawsuit, the leaders of the New York Police Department (NYPD) stripped protesters of their First Amendment rights through a coordinated campaign of indiscriminate brutality and unlawful arrests. This legal battle has spanned over two years, with city attorneys arguing that the police were responding to a chaotic and unprecedented situation that included unruly protests.
During the protests in 2020, officials used a crowd control tactic called “kettling” against peaceful protesters, confining them in confined spaces and using batons and pepper spray before making mass arrests. One named plaintiff in the lawsuit, Adama Sow, described being caught by the police without warning, tied with zip ties until her hands turned purple, and subjected to hours on a correctional bus. She described the actions of the police as disorganized but intentional, with a clear intent to traumatize everyone present.
Qualified Immunity and Constitutional Rights
The city invoked qualified immunity, which protects police officers from lawsuits related to their lawful work in the line of duty, and defended the decision to arrest medics and legal observers as within the prerogatives of the department. While plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that there were systemic violations of constitutional rights by the NYPD, city attorneys denied any frequent deprivation of constitutional rights, stating that there is no history or future of unconstitutional policing.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio and retired NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, along with other police leaders, were named as defendants in this civil rights lawsuit. However, under the terms of the settlement agreement, neither the city nor the NYPD are required to admit wrongdoing.
Settlement Exclusions and Ongoing Lawsuits
The settlement does not cover protesters arrested on specific charges such as trespassing, damaging property, assaulting an officer, arson, or possession of a weapon. Additionally, individuals seen on video preventing police from making arrests may also be excluded from the settlement. It’s important to note that this class-action lawsuit was not intended to force the NYPD to change its practices, unlike other lawsuits seeking injunctive relief that are still pending.
Another class-action lawsuit announced earlier this year could see a payout of around $10 million, including legal fees, to those who were arrested by police during a demonstration in the Bronx. City Comptroller Brad Lander stated that over 600 people have filed individual lawsuits against New York City related to police operations during the 2020 protests, with approximately half resulting in settlements or resolutions that have cost the city nearly $12 million to date.
Conclusion
The recent civil rights lawsuit settlement has seen New York City agree to pay over $13 million to resolve a case filed on behalf of individuals who were arrested or assaulted during the protests against racial injustice in 2020. This settlement is considered to be one of the most expensive in mass arrest litigation history. The lawsuit focused on specific protests that occurred following the killing of George Floyd and alleged systemic violations of constitutional rights by the NYPD.
While the settlement allows the city to avoid a costly and politically sensitive trial, other lawsuits seeking injunctive relief are still pending. The exclusion of certain charges and individuals from the settlement highlights the complexity of addressing the issues raised by the protests. With a rising number of lawsuits and settlements across the country, it is clear that the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement goes beyond the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death and continues to shape discussions on police brutality and the protection of constitutional rights.
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New York City has agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of about 1,300 people who were arrested or beaten by police during the process Demonstrations against racial injustice that swept through the city in the summer of 2020.
If a judge agrees, the settlement, filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, would be among the most expensive payouts ever awarded in a mass arrest litigation, experts said.
The lawsuit focused on 18 of the many protests that erupted in New York City this week after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. With certain exceptions, individuals arrested by NYPD officers or subjected to violence at these events are each entitled to $9,950 in damages, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.
The agreement, one of several as part of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, allows the city to avoid a trial that could be both expensive and politically sensitive.
It comes at a time when many other cities across the US are negotiating their own settlements with protesters who took to the streets to denounce racist police brutality following Floyd’s death 10,000 people arrested within a few days.
Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild, which represented the plaintiffs in New York, accused NYPD leaders of stripping protesters of their First Amendment rights through a “coordinated” campaign of indiscriminate brutality and unlawful arrests.
During the more than two-year legal battle, city attorneys alleged that police were responding to a chaotic and unprecedented situation, citing some unruly protests that have seen police vehicles set on fire and officers thrown stones and plastic bottles.
A spokesman for the NYPD deferred questions to the city’s legal department, which did not respond to a request for comment.
During some protest marches in 2020, officials used a crowd control tactic known as “kettling” against peaceful protesters, confining them in confined spaces and attacking them with batons and pepper spray before conducting mass arrests.
Adama Sow, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said her group of protesters were caught by police without warning. Sow and the other detainees were tied with zip ties until their hands turned purple and then held on a muggy correctional bus for several hours.
“It was so disorganized but so intentional,” Sow said. “They seemed intent on traumatizing everyone.”
The city invoked qualified immunity protects police officers of lawsuits related to lawful work in the line of duty and defended the decision to arrest medics and legal observers as within the prerogatives of the department.
While plaintiffs’ attorneys cited past raids on large demonstrations, including during the 2004 Republican National Convention, as evidence of long-standing “systemic violations” by the NYPD, city attorneys said there was no systematic effort to protect people’s right to protest to withdraw .
“There is no history — present or future — of unconstitutional policing,” Georgia Pestana, a city attorney, wrote in a memo. “There is no frequent deprivation of constitutional rights.”
The lawsuit named former Mayor Bill de Blasio and retired NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, along with other police leaders, as defendants. Under the settlement agreement, neither the city nor the NYPD are required to admit wrongdoing.
Protesters arrested on specific charges – including trespassing, damaging property, assaulting an officer, arson or possession of a weapon – will be excluded from the settlement. Those seen on video preventing police from making arrests may also not be eligible.
Unlike some other lawsuits related to the 2020 protests, the class action lawsuit was not intended to force the NYPD to change its practices. Several other lawsuits seeking injunctive relief are pending, including one by New York Attorney General Letitia James demanding a federal observer oversee the NYPD’s monitoring of the protests.
Another class action lawsuit announced earlier this year would do so Prize money: $21,500 a payout that could total around $10 million, including legal fees, to those arrested by police during a demonstration in the Bronx.
According to City Comptroller Brad Lander, more than 600 people have filed individual lawsuits against New York City related to police operations during the 2020 protests. About half of those resulted in settlements and resolutions, which have cost the city nearly $12 million to date.
Wylie Stecklow, an attorney for protesters in the class action lawsuit, said the rising cost to taxpayers should serve as a “red flag” for city leaders about the NYPD’s inability to solve its “decades-old problem with constitutional protest policing.”
“Although the arc of the moral universe is indeed long, turning to justice sometimes requires reform,” he said.
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