NYPD Union's Bid To Block Protest Overhaul Rejected By Judge

NEW YORK CITY — A last-ditch bid by a powerful NYPD police union to scuttle a settlement that reforms how cops respond to protests got swatted down by a judge.

The ruling Wednesday by federal Judge Colleen McMahon effectively approves an historic settlement that overhauls the NYPD's protest policies in the wake of cops' brutal response to 2020's George Floyd demonstrations.

McMahon did so by dismissing a bid by the Police Benevolent Association, which represents rank-and-file city cops, to reject the settlement.

Advocates hailed the judge's decision as a major step toward curbing NYPD abuses.

"We're gratified that the Court saw the PBA’s opposition for what it was: a baseless hail Mary that would perpetuate the abuses we saw in 2020," said Molly Biklen, the New York Civil Liberties Union's deputy legal director, and Jennvine Wong, a staff attorney with The Legal Aid Society, in a statement.

“We know the NYPD cannot police itself, and we won't let the PBA destroy a commonsense settlement to address the violence and reckless over-policing New Yorkers experienced firsthand when standing up for Black lives in the summer of 2020."

State Attorney General Letitia James, who filed a George Floyd protests lawsuit covered by the settlement, said the agreement will require NYPD officials to reform protest practices immediately.

"The policing reforms led by my office, The Legal Aid Society, and NYCLU, and agreed to by the NYPD, will better protect New Yorkers’ public safety and their constitutional right to peacefully protest," she said in a statement.

But not all were happy with the decision.

PBA President Patrick Hendry said those who signed the settlement — which was initially lauded and agreed to by Mayor Eric Adams, until he bashed it — will bear blame for any future "chaos."

"The next time a peaceful protest is hijacked by rioters, the next time our roads, bridges or subways are shut down by agitators, New Yorkers should remember that their city chose to encourage these disruptions by signing onto this misguided settlement," Hendry said in a statement.

The agreement bans the NYPD from kettling protesters, intimidating crowds with helicopters and using other excessive force tactics that thousands of New Yorkers experienced firsthand during the Black Lives Matter protests.

It also sets a four-tiered system for how police respond to protests that focus on deescalation, and requires NYPD officers to only break up protests as a last resort.

McMahon, in her decision, found the PBA's lawyers didn't adequately explain how the settlement's requirements would harm cops.

"The PBA has not explained how the Settlement will unfairly affect it or suggested any 'curative conditions' aside from refusing to dismiss the lawsuit," the judge wrote.

Attorneys for the PBA argued the settlement would effectively handcuff individual officers to make judgment calls during protests that could turn violent.

But the judge found it gave cops "ample room." He wrote that NYPD officials are required to craft policies that directly deal with any confusion.

"And the PBA, as the union representing the rank and file, might usefully participate in that enterprise, provided it is not inclined simply to be obstructionist," he wrote.