Read a PDF of our statement here.

(NEW YORK, NY) – The federal monitor overseeing the consolidated monitoring process to reform the NYPD in Floyd v. City of New York, Davis v. City of New York, and Ligon v. City of New York published a community engagement plan intended to bring into the monitorship the voices of communities most impacted by the New York City Police Department’s discriminatory stop-and-frisk and trespass-enforcement practices. The plan comes on the heels of the 10 year anniversary of the landmark decision in Floyd v. City of New York that found the NYPD liable for violating the constitutional rights of Black and Latino New Yorkers through a pattern of racial profiling. Since then, the NYPD has been under federal court supervision.

Advocates have long called for greater inclusion of impacted communities in the ongoing monitorship. The plan published today will allow the court-appointed Community Liaison to engage with community members, listen to their concerns, and communicate their feedback to the monitor, so that the monitor can meaningfully consider community perspectives in its assessment of whether the NYPD is in compliance with court-ordered reforms.

In response to the release of this plan, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and The Legal Aid Society issued the following statements:

“The NYPD has long engaged in law enforcement practices that have abused and harassed untold numbers of Black and Brown New Yorkers throughout the city. Thus, it is necessary and fitting for the NYPD to respond directly to the communities that have been most harmed,” said Ashok Chandran, Assistant Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “While we are encouraged that this plan recognizes the critical need to center the voices of the most directly impacted communities in the remedial process, we await the plan’s implementation to determine whether the promise of truly meaningful community engagement will be fulfilled.”

Jennvine Wong, staff attorney in the Special Litigation Unit at The Legal Aid Society, said: “It is absolutely vital that the voices of the people most directly harmed by the NYPD’s long history of discriminatory practices inform how we address bad policies and practices. New Yorkers of color have historically been targeted by illegal stop-and-frisk and trespass-enforcement practices at overwhelmingly disproportionate rates, and they deserve to be included in any ongoing effort to hold the NYPD accountable for their actions. We look forward to the implementation of this new plan and hope that it results in a tangible, meaningful change that will make New York City safer for all residents.”

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