Training is Part of Court Monitored Process to Remedy Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk Practices
Today, a federal judge approved a public housing training for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to ensure that all officers understand the rights afforded to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and their guests.
The training is one aspect of larger efforts to reform policing in New York City’s public housing developments as part of Davis, et al. v. City of New York, et al., which joined the court monitoring process that was ordered in Floyd v. City of New York, the lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policies. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), along with co-counsel The Legal Aid Society, represents plaintiffs in the Davis federal class action lawsuit.
“Public housing residents and their guests have the same rights as people living in or visiting any other building in New York City. This training for NYPD officers patrolling public housing reiterates that fundamental truth to help ensure that officers respect the rights of those they serve,” said Jin Hee Lee, Senior Deputy Director of Litigation at LDF. “We negotiated for years to secure this training, but it is only one part of the meaningful change necessary. Real reform requires accountability, and we look forward to continuing to work with the monitor and the city to ensure that what is taught in the training is what happens in these public housing residences.”
The Davis lawsuit was filed on January 29, 2010, by a group of residents of, and visitors to, NYCHA homes. The case challenged the NYPD’s policies and practices of unlawfully stopping and arresting NYCHA residents and their visitors for criminal trespass without sufficient evidence and due to their race and/or ethnicity.
Read Judge Analisa Torres’ order here.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
