New York AG sues NYPD for handling of protests
The federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleges the police repeatedly and without justification used batons and other physical force against protesters, many of whom were never charged with a crime, causing broken bones and concussions among other injuries.
The lawsuit said the police violated protesters' rights, and is seeking a court order to mandate policies, training and monitoring to assure an end to practices it characterized as unlawful.
In addition to excessive force, state Attorney General Letitia James alleged police detained hundreds of protesters, medics and observers without probable cause. She also accused the police of controlling crowds through "kettling," or corralling them without giving them a chance to depart, and making mass arrests.
De Blasio said in a statement he supported major discipline reforms but opposed the lawsuit.
"A court process and the added bureaucracy of a federal monitor will not speed up this work," he said.
