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New Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Damages For Protesters Brutalized By NYPD Officers
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 21, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 21, 2021
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Mayor Bill de Blasio and his embattled police department are facing yet another lawsuit over the NYPD's treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters — with a potentially "astronomical" price tag for city taxpayers.
Filed in federal court on Thursday, the new class action lawsuit accuses the NYPD of violating the rights of New Yorkers through "demoralizing and brutal shows of force, rather than genuine efforts to facilitate protesters’ protected First Amendment activity."
It comes just one week after New York Attorney General Tish James filed her own suit accusing the NYPD of using excessive force on protesters who gathered across the city in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
But while James's suit is aimed at making changes to department policy — possibly under the guidance of another federal monitor — the latest litigation is also seeking monetary damages for those who were brutalized and arrested during demonstrations.
"We think the community should have a say in whatever happens," said Jonathan Moore, one of the attorneys who filed the suit. "We’ve found in litigations in the past that when it's just one part of the government talking to another part, the voices...do not get heard."
Moore previously led the class action suit stemming from the NYPD's crackdown on protesters during the 2004 Republican National Convention, a decade-long court battle that ultimately cost the city upwards of $35 million.
But despite findings that the NYPD illegally harassed and corralled demonstrators, "none of that get implemented into a new training protocol or new regulations," Moore said. 'They're doing it again.'"
This "class," pending certification from a judge, would include anyone who was arrested or brutalized by the NYPD at a protest since May 28th — a group that includes "more than a couple thousand people," according to Moore.
Among the 10 plaintiffs listed in the suit are Savitri Durkee, a 48-year-old performing artist and activist. She was one of the hundreds of protesters who were trapped, hit with batons, and pepper-sprayed by NYPD officers while marching through Mott Haven on June 4th.
According to the suit, an officer with tape over his badge number "grabbed Ms. Durkee from behind and threw her to the ground and on top of other women who had been pushed to the street by officers as he said in sum and substance, 'Shut the fuck up.'"
"The officer grabbed Ms. Durkee’s hair and pulled her head back and ripped her mask down," the filing states. "The officer then put his knee or baton into her back and forced her down on top of the other women.
The woman was ultimately issued a summons for curfew violation, which was later thrown out by prosecutors.
After months of defending his police department, including their actions in Mott Haven, Mayor de Blasio released a video last month apologizing for the NYPD's handling of protests and promising future reforms. But both attorneys and activists said they had little faith in the mayor's pledge to change the department, seven years into his tenure.
"Why are we spending all this money arresting people and dismissing it the next day but for the fact that we’re trying to discourage people from engaging in First Amendment activity?" Moore said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Law Department — which also released a report last month finding fault with the department's protest policing — defended the NYPD's actions.
“A deadly pandemic and the murder of George Floyd contributed to a perfect storm of challenges for our city," a Law Department spokesperson said. "The NYPD has a longstanding track record of successfully protecting the right of the public to protest while ensuring public safety, and is committed to strengthening those efforts.”
Inquiries to the NYPD were not returned.
Tagged
nypd
police brutality
mott haven
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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