Case: People of New York v. New York

1:21-cv-00322 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Jan. 14, 2021

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Case Summary

On behalf of the residents of New York, New York Attorney General Letitia James brought this lawsuit against the New York City Police Department on January 14, 2021 in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleged that NYPD officers regularly used excessive force against and falsely arrested peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights during the widespread racial justice protests that took place from May 28, 2020 to December 11, 2020. The plaintiff sued all defendants under 42 U.S.C § 1983 alleging excessive force and unlawful seizure in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as First Amendment violations. The Attorney General also brought claims under the New York State Constitution alleging excessive force, unlawful seizure, and violation of the freedom of the press. In addition, the complaint alleges that NYPD officers committed assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and negligence under state law and that the NYPD failed to use reasonable care in the training, supervision, and retention of NYPD officers.

Plaintiff alleged that the NYPD dispatched thousands of inadequately trained officers to the large-scale protests challenging police conduct and authority. It further alleged that those officers employed unconstitutional policing practices, including ramming protesters with police bicycles; striking protesters with batons and fists; indiscriminately pepper spraying protesters; shoving protesters to the ground and using chokeholds or kneeling on protesters; “kettling” protesters in order to deny them an opportunity to disperse and thereafter executing mass arrests; and arresting curfew-exempt essential workers, including legal observers, medics, and jail support providers. Additionally, plaintiff alleged that New York City failed to prevent or correct the NYPD’s use of unconstitutional policing practices during the protests.

Plaintiff sought declaratory relief as well as injunctive relief enjoining the NYPD from implementing or applying its unconstitutional policies or practices of employing excessive force, false arrests, and retaliatory tactics against New York residents who participated in the 2020 racial justice protests. Plaintiff also sought an order requiring the NYPD to change its policies and training procedures as well as monitoring to ensure its compliance. In addition, Plaintiff sought fees and any other relief the Court deemed just and proper.

The case was related to Payne v. De Blasio and assigned to Judge Colleen McMahon on January 19, 2021. Judge McMahon consolidated this case with three other police conduct cases (Payne, Sow v. City of New York, and Wood v. De Blasio) for pre-trial purposes. In early March, the Detectives Endowment Association of New York City and the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York moved to intervene in the case. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on March 5, 2021, detailing additional specific incidents in support of their earlier allegations and further alleging that the NYPD interfered with the right of journalists, legal observers, and the public to observe and report upon police behavior.

On April 28, 2021, Judge McMahon denied the police unions’ motions to intervene because at that stage, the collective-bargaining interest was too speculative to warrant intervention. The parties could re-file if circumstances changed. The Judge also denied a non-party pro se request for intervention because the violations claimed were either unrelated to the lawsuit or the party’s interests were already being represented in the litigation. On May 6, the court denied the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York's motion for reconsideration. Two weeks later, on May 19, the Association appealed the denial of its motion to intervene to the Second Circuit.

On July 9, 2021, Judge McMahon granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint. Specifically, the court held that the plaintiffs demonstrated that the city had an official custom or policy of using excessive force and making false arrests at protests. They adequately alleged that the city was deliberately indifferent to their constitutional rights and that the mayor was personally involved in the development of tactics employed by the police department at protests. 548 F.Supp.3d 383

The court also held plaintiffs failed to adequately allege that the city had an official policy of selective enforcement of curfew orders, and failed to allege that the police commissioner was personally involved in the alleged misconduct. The court additionally concluded that the curfew orders were reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions and were not void for vagueness. Thus, the defendants’ motion to dismiss was granted for those claims. 548 F.Supp.3d 383.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s March 4, 2022 decision reversed the district court’s denial of intervention with respect to the actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief. The court found that the Association had an interest in the litigation that supported intervention as a right, and had demonstrated that its interest in officer safety might not be adequately represented by city or individual police officers. The court affirmed the decision with respect to actions seeking only damages because there was no interest inadequately represented by current parties that could support intervention as a right. 27 F.4th 792

Then, on June 7, 2022, the District Court granted the Detectives Endowment Association of New York City and the Sergeant Benevolent Association’s motions to intervene in light of the Second Circuit’s decision. 2022 WL 2045654.

The parties began mediation in July 2022, which did not yield a resolution until more than a year later. After reaching an agreement, both parties filed a joint motion to dismiss on September 5, 2023, which the court then granted on September 9 while retaining jurisdiction to enforce the agreement. The agreement mandated changes that would allow NYPD to deploy officers to public demonstrations without violating demonstrators’ First Amendment rights through intimidation or violence. There are five general categories of changes: (1) First, the agreement mandates the creation of a senior-level NYPD role responsible for overseeing and developing all policies, procedures, and officer trainings consistent with this settlement. (2) Second, the agreement mandates that NYPD’s default response to a protest can no longer be large-scale deployment of officers; instead, it must deploy officers according to a tiered response system which accounts for the size, scale, and conditions of protest. Moreover, officers are obligated to attempt de-escalation techniques at protests before escalating further. (3) Third, the agreement mandates a change in the NYPD’s use of force practices, including the elimination of encircling protestors; now, encircling is only allowed if a protestor is the target of a particular arrest. (4) Fourth, the agreement mandates improved treatment of the press such as prohibitions on arresting members of the press or public solely for observing or recording police activity in public. (5) Finally, the agreement mandates the creation of an external oversight committee to monitor NYPD’s implementation and compliance with the agreement over a multi-year period.

	Document
1:21-cv-00322 1:20-cv-08924 1:21-cv-00533	Docket [PACER] People of the State of New York v. City Of New York	March 6, 2021	March 6, 2021 Docket
1 1:21-cv-00322	Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief People of the State of New York v. City of New York	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 Complaint
51 1:21-cv-00322	First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief People of the State of New York v. City of New York	March 5, 2021	March 5, 2021 Complaint
90 1:21-cv-00322	Memorandum Decision and Order Denying Motions to Intervene	April 28, 2021	April 28, 2021 Order/Opinion 2021 WL 2021
21-01316	Opinion In Re New York City Policing During Summer 2020 Demonstrations U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit	March 4, 2022	March 4, 2022 Order/Opinion 27 F.4th 27
1:21-cv-00322 1:20-cv-08924 1:21-cv-00533	Order Granting the Sergeant Benevolent Association's and the Detectives Endownment Association's Rule 24(A) Motions to Intervene In Re: New York City Policing During Summer 2020 Demonstrations	June 7, 2022	June 7, 2022 Order/Opinion 2022 WL 2022

Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Attorney General James Files Lawsuit Against the NYPD for Excessive Use of Force New York State Attorney General	New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and its leadership to end its pattern of using excessive force and making false arrest…	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 https://ag.ny.gov/...
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, L…	Sept. 5, 2023	Sept. 5, 2023 https://ag.ny.gov/...

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	COMPLAINT against Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan, City Of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea. (Filing Fee $ 402.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-23509112)Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 Clearinghouse
2	CIVIL COVER SHEET filed..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
3	STATEMENT OF RELATEDNESS re: that this action be filed as related to 20-cv-08924. Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
4	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Morenike Fajana on behalf of People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Fajana, Morenike) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
5	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to City of New York, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
6	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Mayor Bill de Blasio, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
7	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
8	REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF SUMMONS as to Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan, re: 1 Complaint,. Document filed by People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Clarke, Jessica) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
9	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Lillian Marie Marquez on behalf of People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Marquez, Lillian) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
10	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Travis William England on behalf of People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(England, Travis) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
11	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Gregory Morril on behalf of People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York..(Morril, Gregory) (Entered: 01/14/2021)	Jan. 14, 2021	Jan. 14, 2021 PACER
12	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Philip Levitz on behalf of People of The State of New York..(Levitz, Philip) (Entered: 01/15/2021)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Party Modification	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	Case Opening Initial Assignment Notice	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING PARTY MODIFICATION. Notice to attorney Jessica Clarke. The party information for the following party/parties has been modified: People of the State of New York. The information for the party/parties has been modified for the following reason/reasons: party name contained a typographical error. (sj)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Unassigned. (sj)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	Case Designated ECF	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	Case Designated ECF. (sj)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	Case Referred as Possibly Related/Similar	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
	CASE REFERRED TO Judge Colleen McMahon as possibly related to 1:20cv8924. (sj)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
13	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to City Of New York. (sj) (Entered: 01/15/2021)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
14	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Mayor Bill de Blasio. (sj) (Entered: 01/15/2021)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
15	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea. (sj) (Entered: 01/15/2021)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
16	ELECTRONIC SUMMONS ISSUED as to Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan. (sj) (Entered: 01/15/2021)	Jan. 15, 2021	Jan. 15, 2021 PACER
17	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. City Of New York served on 1/19/2021, answer due 2/9/2021. Document filed by People of The State of New York..(Marquez, Lillian) (Entered: 01/19/2021)	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	Case Accepted as Related	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	Notice of Case Assignment/Reassignment	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	CASE ACCEPTED AS RELATED. Create association to 1:20-cv-08924-CM. Notice of Assignment to follow. (laq)	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT to Judge Colleen McMahon. Judge Unassigned is no longer assigned to the case. (laq)	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	Case Designation	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
	Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein is so designated. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf. (laq)	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 PACER
18	CALENDAR NOTICE: Please take notice that the above captioned matter has been scheduled for a: Telephone conference on Friday, February 5, 2021 at 11:30 A.M. before the Honorable Colleen McMahon, United States District Judge. Parties should dial in at 1(888)363-4749, access code (9054506) to join the conference Any scheduling difficulties must be brought to the attention of the Court in writing and faxed to Chambers at (212) 805-6326. SO ORDERED. Telephone Conference set for 2/5/2021 at 11:30 AM before Judge Colleen McMahon. (Signed by Judge Colleen McMahon on 1/19/2021) (mml) (Entered: 01/19/2021)	Jan. 19, 2021	Jan. 19, 2021 RECAP
19	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. Mayor Bill de Blasio served on 1/21/2021, answer due 2/11/2021. Document filed by People of The State of New York..(Marquez, Lillian) (Entered: 01/21/2021)	Jan. 21, 2021	Jan. 21, 2021 PACER
20	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea served on 1/21/2021, answer due 2/11/2021. Document filed by People of The State of New York..(Marquez, Lillian) (Entered: 01/21/2021)	Jan. 21, 2021	Jan. 21, 2021 PACER
21	SUMMONS RETURNED EXECUTED Summons and Complaint, served. Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan served on 1/21/2021, answer due 2/11/2021. Document filed by People of The State of New York..(Marquez, Lillian) (Entered: 01/21/2021)	Jan. 21, 2021	Jan. 21, 2021 PACER
22	ORDER: Please docket this notice from Chief Judge McMahon in cases: Payne v. DiBlasio, 20 Civ. 8924; Wood v. City of New York, 20 Civ. 10541; People v. City of New York, 21 Civ. 322; Sow v. City of New York, 21 Civ. 533. Counsel: I now have four matters on my docket relating to the conduct of the NYPD in connection with various demonstrations that occurred in New York City during 2020, that are connected to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and the deaths of George Floyd and other individuals at the hands of law enforcement officials in other jurisdictions. They are Payne v. DiBlasio, 20 Civ. 8924, Wood v. City of New York, 20 Civ. 10541, People v. City of New York, 21 Civ. 322, Sow v. City of New York, 21 Civ. 533. I preliminarily consolidated these cases for pre-trial purposes. The defendants have moved to deconsolidate Payne and Wood, and the plaintiffs in Payne object to consolidation of their action with the Attorney General's suit, though they do not object to coordinated discovery and joint motion practice on the common issues of law and fact regarding policies and practices of the NYPD that undergird all four of these lawsuits. I note that Wood, People and Sow were all filed as "related cases" to Payne - and so they are, whether they end up being tried together or not - so I anticipate that most pre-trial matters, and certainly discovery, will be consolidated. I want to conference all four cases initially, so I can get my head around how to manage these cases and start them moving. I want that conference to take place in person - "in person" meaning that no more than two attorneys for each plaintiff and no more than four attorneys for the defendants may be present in my courtroom, masked and socially distanced, at an on-the-record conference. We cannot possibly accommodate all the members of the public who would want to be present at this conference, even with an overflow courtroom; we will provide a call in number for maximum public access. At present, as you know, we are not holding in person proceedings in the federal courthouses, so the February 5 date that is currently on your calendars will not work. I would like to schedule this proceeding for the week of February 16-17-18-19. As to the exact date, I would prefer to suit the convenience of counsel, so please confer and be in touch with my deputy clerk, Mariela de Jesus, Mariela_DeJesus@nysd.uscourts.gov with suggested dates and times during that week. You should be prepared to discuss anticipated motions, coordinated discovery and the reasons why these cases should or should not be consolidated. If each plaintiff and the defendants would file a letter of no more than three pages summarizing your positions at last five days prior to the conference; you can flesh them out fully at the conference. There really is no need to make a lot of formal procedural motions; I would rather hear you outline your positions and rule from the bench. Magistrate Judge Gorenstein is the assigned MJ on these cases. I will be inviting him to participate at this conference as well. (Signed by Judge Colleen McMahon on 1/25/2021) (mml) Modified on 2/5/2021 (mml). (Entered: 01/25/2021)	Jan. 25, 2021	Jan. 25, 2021 RECAP
	Case Consolidation - Member	Jan. 25, 2021	Jan. 25, 2021 PACER
	CONSOLIDATED MEMBER CASE: Create association to 1:20-cv-08924-CM.. (kv)	Jan. 25, 2021	Jan. 25, 2021 PACER
23	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Brachah Goykadosh on behalf of Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan, City Of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea..(Goykadosh, Brachah) (Entered: 02/01/2021)	Feb. 1, 2021	Feb. 1, 2021 RECAP
24	NOTICE OF APPEARANCE by Dara Lynn Weiss on behalf of Chief of Department Terence A. Monahan, City Of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea..(Weiss, Dara) (Entered: 02/01/2021)	Feb. 1, 2021	Feb. 1, 2021 PACER

Case: People of New York v. New York

1:21-cv-00322 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

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