NYPD to overhaul stop and frisk in NYCHA houses: documents
The city pledged in a preliminary settlement filed in Manhattan Federal Court to reform police training and guidelines for encounters with residents and visitors in public housing. The settlement still requires a judge’s approval.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, January 8, 2015, 2:47 PM
- A
- A
- A
MARINO, JOE/NY DAILY NEWSPolice protocol in NYCHA housing will get an overhaul under a preliminary settlement that requires a judge’s approval.
The city agreed Thursday to reform rules governing police patrols of NYCHA buildings, signaling an to another front in the legal battle against stop-and-frisk.
The preliminary settlement in the Davis v. New York class action case means that the court-appointed federal monitor of the NYPD will oversee and overhaul of training manuals and guidelines for cops interacting with the over 400,000 residents and visitors of the city's public housing.
The Legal Aid Society and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund argued that police disproportionately harassed NYCHA residents of color without reasonable suspicion they were trespassing.
“Public housing residents and their visitors, the vast majority of whom are people of color, deserve safety, as well as the courtesy and respect of the law enforcement officers who are sworn to serve and protect them,” said Sherrilyn Ifill of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
The settlement of the five-hear-old suit was expected in the wake of Manhattan Federal Court Judge Shira Scheindlin's 2013 ruling that stop and frisk was unconstitutional. That case pertained to stops on the street, rather than the new agreement, which only applies to NYCHA housing.
The new agreement requires Scheindlin’s approval.
Judge Analisa Torres — who was assigned to the case after an Appeals Court condemned Scheindlin’s handling of it — is expected to oversee the reforms.
