Communities United for Police Reform Calls on Judge Analisa Torres to Halt the Expansion of NYPD Secrecy that a New Protective Order Would Create
New York – Today, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) filed a request for the court to accept a submission from CPR as amicus curiae, along with the proposed amicus submission to support plaintiffs calling on federal judge Analisa Torres to halt the expansion of NYPD secrecy that a new proposed protective order would create.
On July 25, NYPD Monitor Peter Zimroth filed his request in federal court for the protective order. A day later, July 26 Judge Torres set a deadline of August 2 for legal objections to be filed. On July 31, the Monitor filed an amended proposed protective order.
CPR filed the brief opposing the requested protective order with objections that it will increase the secrecy of the NYPD, is politically-motivated and will create new barriers to community input, transparency and accountability in the process of reforming the NYPD.
“We're calling on Judge Torres to deny the request for a protective order for the NYPD. It's bizarre for the Monitor to file this request for a protective order, almost four years into the court-ordered remedies process. The Monitor's claim that this would benefit all stakeholders is patently false - the only entities that stand to benefit from such an overly-broad and lop-sided protective order are the NYPD and those who seek to shield the NYPD and their continuing abuses from public view. If the proposed guidelines are ordered, the communities historically harmed by unconstitutional and abusive policing that these cases are about will continued to be harmed, with decreasing transparency and without the information or recourse to counter NYPD misinformation campaigns. The protective order is so biased in favor of the NYPD that it would give the NYPD the authority to share information with 5 police unions and any government entities beyond City government agencies, while concealing that same information from police accountability advocates and directly impacted communities that could counter potentially misleading conclusions. This protective order would provide court support for the NYPD to become even more secretive, hurt the ability of impacted communities to participate meaningfully in efforts to end policing abuses, and make it harder to monitor whether the NYPD is truly implementing mandated reforms" said Linda Tigani, CPR spokesperson and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement member leader.
“We are hopeful the Court will consider CPR’s application to submit opposition to the proposed Confidentiality Order. The proposed Confidentiality Order would gut CPR’s ability to provide prompt and meaningful input in the important, Court-ordered reforms to the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk and trespass enforcement-related practices. The submission makes a compelling argument for the Court to reject the Monitor’s application for the Confidentiality Order, which is what we ask the Court to do" said Attorney Gideon Oliver.
- CPR's amicus brief opposing the Monitor’s proposed confidentiality order can be found here: http://bit.ly/
CPRFloydObjection080218 - Plaintiff’s opposition to the Monitor’s proposed order can be found here: bit.ly/PlaintiffsObjection8218
- The Monitor’s amended July 31st proposed order can be found here: bit.ly/MonitorLetterProposal73
118 ; His original July 25thfiling can be found here: bit.ly/MonitorRequest72518
Judge Torres currently presides over the remedies phase for the three main stop-and-frisk and trespass enforcement class action lawsuits against the NYPD: Floyd, the main stop-and-frisk class action litigation; Davis, which covers stops and trespass enforcement in public housing; and Ligon, which deals with trespass enforcement and policing in private buildings that are part of the NYPD's "Clean Halls" program.
Torres was not the original judge in the case; she was appointed to the three cases after the 2013 federal court ruling found NYPD's stop-and-frisk program to be unconstitutional and racially discriminatory. Torres replaced Judge Shira Scheindlin, after the 2013 ruling. Zimroth was appointed NYPD Monitor by Scheindlin in 2013.
Scheindlin's remedies ruling from the Floyd class-action lawsuit against the NYPD contains four key parts: 1) the appointment of an NYPD Monitor to oversee the remedies process until "substantial compliance" was found for a period not less than 3 years; and continued court supervision for a minimum of at least 2 additional years; 2) the creation of an Immediate Reforms Process in which particular reforms are negotiated between parties, overseen by the NYPD Monitor; 3) the creation of a Joint Remedies Process, with a Facilitator charged to bring various stakeholders together to identify reforms, with Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) specifically named as one such stakeholder; 4) the creation of a body-worn cameras pilot program.
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About Communities United for Police Reform: Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment. CPR brings together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those unfairly targeted the most by the NYPD. CPR is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.
Learn more: http://changethenypd.org/
Follow CPR on Twitter: @Changethenypd
Like CPR on Facebook: Facebook.com/Changethenypd
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