PBA opposes settlement of 2020 protest lawsuits

Plaintiffs in several related lawsuits concerning the NYPD’s handling of the summer 2020 anti-police protests today filed a joint motion with the City and two NYPD unions asking the court to approve a settlement agreement mandating changes in the way the NYPD polices mass demonstrations. The NYC PBA, which intervened in the suits, is not signing onto the settlement agreement.

PBA President Patrick Hendry said:

“The PBA will not join in this settlement agreement, because we have serious concerns about its impact on the safety of police officers and all New Yorkers in future situations involving coordinated violent actions. Once again, police officers on the street are being left to bear all the burden of so-called ‘solutions’ to problems we didn’t create, while the real causes of the chaos remain unaddressed. Nearly 400 NYPD members were injured during the summer 2020 protests, but there has been zero accountability for the agitators who used the protests as cover to assault police officers. This settlement does not change that. If anything, it may serve to encourage future violence. It creates a regime that will enrich anti-police advocates through yet another monitorship disguised as an ‘oversight process,‘ and it will expose police officers to more discipline for taking lawful and appropriate police action. The individuals and groups responsible for the 2020 violence and destruction will surely view this agreement as a green light to create more of the same.”