By Gina Martinez
The city has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a civil suit claiming that NYPD officers were unfairly handing out summonses, particularly in minority neighborhoods, to meet quotas.
The suit was filed in 2010 by nine African-Americans who contended their civil rights were violated by the city and the NYPD.
According to the suit, NYPD officers were encouraged by their superiors to meet a quota for issuing summonses, regardless of probable cause, or they faced punishment in the form of losing overtime, having their shifts changed or being denied days off. The suit also claimed that officers would issue summonses specifically in minority neighborhoods.
The suit also cited data that revealed that 23 percent of summonses filed from 2007-2008 were dismissed as legally insufficient. The suit said that issuing unnecessary summonses degrade, humiliate and cause harm to victims, subjecting them to “unwarranted deprivation of personal liberties.” Victims were subjected to search and seizures in plain view of the public, handcuffed and detained in precincts for prolonged period of times before being released and forced to take time from their families and jobs to appear in court before the summonses were dismissed, according to the suit.
The lawsuit was settled Tuesday, when the city agreed to pay as much as $75 million. Over 900,000 people who received summons that were tossed are eligible for up to $150 in payment per summons. Any money not claimed will go back to the city. The settlement also required that NYPD make significant changes to practices and procedures related to criminal summonses.
Elinor Sutton, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the settlement is a win or everyone.
“This is a landmark settlement that reflects a victory for all New Yorkers,” she said. “That includes officers who no longer labor under a quota system. In this settlement the city has agreed to take certain steps to address and help insure that quota system won’t be used with the NYPD. They have already and will continue to take additional steps as part of our lawsuit and settlement. We also believe that the payment of up to $75 million will have a deterrent effect on the NYPD use of quotas.”
City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) was not too impressed. Despite the recent settlement, he said there is more progress to be made. In a statement Lancman cited data that revealed in 2015 18 percent of the summonses issued were insufficient or defective.
“The NYPD continues to issue insufficient and defective summonses to ordinary New Yorkers, the vast majority of them black and Latino,” Lancman said. “Improperly summonsing over 55,000 New Yorkers a year isn’t progress, and it certainly isn’t something to crow about. We need serious answers to why this injustice persists, and in particular which offenses are being inappropriately used as ‘catch-alls’ to jam thousands of New Yorkers into an already overburdened criminal justice system.”
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
