The Legal Aid Society’s work was recently featured in an exposé from The Intercept examining the New York City Police Department’s unconstitutional practice of detaining Black and Latinx people for the purpose of conducting warrant searches when no reasonable suspicion exists.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and fees for the violation of New Yorkers’ civil rights. This lawsuit was initially filed by the law firm Handley Farah & Anderson. Legal Aid and the firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP joined the litigation early this year.

“We have reason to believe that it’s just common practice for them to run warrant checks on the vast majority of people whom they stop,” said Molly Griffard, Legal Fellow with the Cop Accountability Project at The Legal Aid Society. “The NYPD’s own data confirms that the vast majority of people who they stop each year are Black and Latinx. So, when they run warrant checks and record searches on the majority of people who they stop, it is a continuation of their racist stop-and-frisk practices, but with an invasive digital component.”