NY Attorney General sues NYC mayor Bill de Blasio for excessive police enforcement

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the NYPD over its use of “excessive enforcement” during Black Lives Matter protests.

In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, and Chief of Department Terence Monahan, James asks for a federal monitor to be installed to oversee the NYPD. “What we found was an egregious abuse of police power, rampant excessive use of force, and leadership unable and unwilling to stop it,” James said at a press conference Thursday (POLITICO).

The attorney general’s office investigated the NYPD’s handling of the protests and found that NYPD officers engaged in rampant use of batons, pepper spray, and a tactic known as kettling to surround and hem in protesters. They also illegally arrested legal observers and medics, she alleges. Her suit also seeks a court order declaring that the NYPD’s response to the protests was unconstitutional.

“While our investigation remains ongoing, after 30 days of intense scrutiny, it is impossible to deny that many New Yorkers have lost faith in law enforcement,” James said in a statement at the time. “We must bridge the undeniable divide between the police and the public, and this preliminary report, and the recommendations included, is an important step forward” (FOX).

POLITICS EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: ANNIE TRITT/NYT 

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