Tag: NYPD

NY Amsterdam News: Police reforms locked in place, but nobody’s happy

“But Justine Olderman, executive director of The Bronx Defenders, deemed the final plan empty and toothless. “This weak and unimaginative plan will do nothing to address the NYPD’s endemic racism, nor will it reduce the footprint of policing in communities of color,” said Olderman. “Instead, the proposals funnel more funding towards failed policing strategies and […]

CATO Institute: Evidentiary Seizures Let Police Take Your Smartphone. They Don’t Have to Give It Back.

“Of course, this practice isn’t just limited to New York. For example, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement last year, police in Richmond, VA conducted targeted seizures of smartphones from activists. But what makes New York’s system so interesting is that, following a class action lawsuit from the Bronx Defenders settled in 2018, we now […]

AMNY: Civil rights groups hold town hall to discuss NYPD reforms around ‘decriminalizing’ protests

“Daniel Lambright of the Bronx Defenders discussed the numerous protest-related lawsuits that have been filed over the past year including Payne v. De Blasio, People v. City of New York and Wood v. City of New York among others. Lambright’s main view is that “police use excessive force in policing against protestors … they retaliate […]

Manhattan Times: New town halls focus on police reform

“The planned town halls will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the New York City Council in March to inform the Council’s consideration of the reform proposal. Co-sponsors involved in the series of forums include the Anti-Violence Project, The Audre Lorde Project, The Bronx Defenders, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York Civil […]

Blackstar News: HRW: NY AG’s Lawsuit Against NYPD May Help Bring Accountability

“In September, Human Rights Watch published a 99-page report focused on one of the dozens of incidents covered in the lawsuit: the NYPD’s June 4 planned assault on protesters in Mott Haven, a low-income, majority Black and brown neighborhood in the South Bronx that has long experienced police brutality and systemic racism. A video produced by Human […]

Human Rights Watch: NY Attorney General Sues Police for Violence Against Protesters

Gothamist: NYPD Will Allow Defendants To Keep Religious Headgear On For Mug Shots

“Bronx Defenders, a pro bono attorney service, has sued the NYPD over its use of mug shots to build its facial recognition database, in violation of a 1976 law that keeps mug shots sealed. Facial recognition software was recently used to identify Derrick Ingram, a Black Lives Matter protester who quickly found himself besieged by dozens of NYPD officers. […]

WCBS Radio: NYPD Commissioner Shea on Election Day preparations: ‘We’re in good shape’

“This is New York City I’m hearing everything. Everyone has an opinion and that’s the great thing… we’re hearing everything and that’s the most important thing, giving people a voice, hearing them,” Shea said. “Now we have to turn it into action in terms of what can we learn? This is just phase one. I […]

Gothamist: Analyzing 323,911 Newly-Released Records Of NYPD Misconduct

“Michael Thomas, a staff attorney in the criminal defense practice for The Bronx Defenders, called the release “huge,” and predicted it would lead to major changes in how his cases will be tried, compared to the era in which 50-A shielded many records from discovery. “A lot of our cases that end up going to […]

Gotham Gazette: Supporting Law Enforcement and Reforming the NYPD are Not Mutually Exclusive — I Know From Experience

“When I joined the NYPD in 2013, I was an unlikely candidate for law enforcement. Nearly a decade earlier, during the 2004 Republican National Convention, I was a passerby arrested at a protest in Union Square. At the invitation of the New York Civil Liberties Union, I joined a class action lawsuit against the City […]