New York City to Overhaul Police Protest Response After Lawsuit
A settlement over the NYPD response to George Floyd protests bars the department from trapping protesters. It’s the latest misconduct-related payout from the 2020 demonstrations.
A man speaks to members of the New York City Police Department at a demonstration in City Hall Park during a protest against police brutality and racism, on June 6, 2020, in New York.
Photographer: BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images
New York City will change the way it polices protests to settle a lawsuit accusing its police department of excessive force during the demonstrations sparked by the murder of George Floyd.
Protests against police brutality and racism sprung up across the country in the aftermath of Floyd’s death at the hands of a former Minneapolis Police Department cop, with millions participating in marches and rallies. Yet those demonstrations were sometimes met with brutal force, with officers deploying tear gas, rubber bullets and other less-lethal crowd control tactics. Lawsuits sprung up around the country in response.