N.Y. Attorney General Sues NYPD Over Response to George Floyd Protests

On Thursday, the New York Attorney General sued the New York Police Department, calling the brutal treatment of demonstrators against racial injustice last spring part of a long-standing trend of violence resulting from insufficient preparation, oversight, and discipline.

The complaint by Attorney General Letitia James provides multiple examples of alleged brutality in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd during the spring protests, including pepper spray and batons on protesters, trapping demonstrators with a tactic called kettling and arresting medics and legal observers.

After announcing the lawsuit, James said at a news conference, “We found a pattern of deeply concerning and unlawful practices that the NYPD utilized in response to these largely peaceful protests.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo tasked James, a Democrat, with investigating whether NYPD officers used unnecessary force to quell violence and enforce the nighttime curfew of Mayor Bill de Blasio. In July, she released a preliminary report citing a “clear breakdown of trust between the police and the public.”

She is pursuing reforms, including the appointment of a monitor to supervise the NYPD police tactics at potential demonstrations and a court order ruling that the department’s policies and procedures during the protests as unconstitutional.

The NYPD did not comment on the lawsuit immediately.

James’s lawsuit is the second major legal action to result from the treatment of the demonstrations by the NYPD.

In October, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society sued the city on behalf of demonstrators who say they were harassed and threatened by police,

The department’s behavior has also been criticized by a civil rights organization and a town watchdog agency.

In November, Human Rights Watch released a report citing reports that police planned a violent crackdown in the Bronx on demonstrators on June 4.

In December, the city’s inspector general discovered that the NYPD was caught off guard by the demonstrations’ size and resorted to aggressive disorder control techniques that stoked tensions and stifled free speech.