The Legal Aid Society filed this lawsuit challenging Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, Chief of Department Terence Monahan, the City of New York, and several individual police officers for their roles in the indiscriminate brutalizing and unlawful arrest of peaceful protesters during the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd. This lawsuit addressed the first month of protests between May 28 and June 28, where swarming officers used batons, pepper spray, and other aggressive techniques to retaliate against New Yorkers for showing their support of Black lives and demanding an end to police violence. The NYPD’s use of excessive force against these demonstrators violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.

In September 2023, the NYPD agreed to make significant changes to how it polices protests as part of a settlement on the case’s injunctive relief claims. Included within the settlement is a funded three-year, three-phase oversight process chaired by NYC’s Department of Investigations and including two representatives from Legal Aid. Learn more about the oversight process here.