Muslim surveillanceSecond judge approves settlement on NYPD Muslim surveillance

Published 24 March 2017

The second of two federal judges has approved a settlement with the New York City Police Department that protects New York Muslims and others from discriminatory and unjustified surveillance. The new rules govern when and how investigations are conducted, and provide for an independent civilian representative inside the NYPD who will act as a check against surveillance abuses.

The second of two federal judges has approved a settlement withthe New York City Police Department that protects New York Muslims and others from discriminatory and unjustified surveillance.

The new rules govern when and how investigations are conducted, and provide for an independent civilian representative inside the NYPD who will act as a check against surveillance abuses.

The ACLU says that the settlement was reached in two federal lawsuits, Raza v. City of New York andHandschu v. Special Services Division, and had to be approved by the judges in both cases.

A previous version of the settlement was announced in January 2016. In October, the judge in the Handschu case, Charles S. Haight Jr., praised the overall agreement but said that additional safeguards for the civilian representative were needed. The parties submitted a revised settlement on March 6, which Judge Haight approved a week later, putting the rules into effect. Last night, the judge in the Raza case, Pamela Chen, also approved the agreement, ending the Raza lawsuit.

Razawas brought in June 2013 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project of Main Street Legal Services at CUNY School of Law, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP. The case was filed on behalf of religious and community leaders, mosques, and a charitable organization alleging they were swept up in the NYPD’s dragnet surveillance of Muslims. The suit charged that the NYPD violated the U.S. and New York State Constitutions by singling out and stigmatizing entire communities of New Yorkers based on their religion. The case sought systemic reforms to prevent law enforcement abuses.

Separately in 2013, lawyers in the Handschu case, including the NYCLU, filed papers arguing that the NYPD’s investigations of Muslims violated a long-standing consent decree in that case, which was a class action to protect New Yorkers’ lawful political and religious activities from unwarranted NYPD surveillance.

“We and our clients are very pleased that the courts have approved this groundbreaking settlement,” said the attorneys for the Raza case plaintiffs in a statement.“Now, New York Muslims and all New Yorkers will have strong protections from unconstitutional religious profiling and surveillance. This agreement sends a critical message to the federal government and police forces around the country that law enforcement can and must do its job without resorting to discrimination.”