September 5, 2023
New York Attorney General Letitia James
“The right to peacefully assemble and protest is sacrosanct and foundational to our democracy. Too often peaceful protesters have been met with force that has harmed innocent New Yorkers simply trying to exercise their rights,” said Attorney General James. “Today’s agreement will meaningfully change how the NYPD engages with and responds to public demonstrations in New York City. As the Attorney General, it is my duty to protect New Yorkers’ rights and this agreement will ensure that peaceful protesters can make their voices heard without fear, intimidation, or harm.”
“Today’s settlement represents a novel approach to policing protests that, if implemented faithfully by the NYPD, will ensure that protesters are never again met with the sort of indiscriminate violence and retaliatory over-policing New York saw in the summer of 2020,” said Corey Stoughton, attorney-in-charge of the Criminal Defense Practice’s Special Litigation Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “We look forward to seeing these reforms unfold and will hold both the City and the NYPD accountable should the Department and individual officers fail to adhere to these new and needed practices.”
“This landmark settlement holds the NYPD, the nation’s largest and most influential police force, to its oath to protect New Yorkers’ right to protest,” said Molly Biklen, deputy legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The NYPD’s violent response to protestors during the 2020 demonstrations for Black lives made clear to the world what too many New Yorkers already knew, that the NYPD is unable or unwilling to police itself. Today’s settlement ensures the NYPD can no longer indiscriminately deploy the notorious Strategic Response Group to protests and no longer escalate force on a whim.”
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