Under New Settlement Civilian Representative will Have Greater Oversight Over NYPD Surveillance of Muslims

From [HERE] The New York Police Department [official website] (NYPD) reached a new settlement [text] on Monday over its surveillance of Muslims after a federal judge rejected an earlier deal [JURIST report] in October. The new settlement would create greater oversight of the NYPD's intelligence-gathering programs by a civilian representative. In the original rejection of the case, the judge stated that the agreement did not ensure that the NYPD would be limited in how it could monitor political and religious activity. Zachary Carter, head of New York City's law department, said [Reuters report] that the new settlement agreement addresses the judge's previous concerns.

The ACLU represents Muslim individuals and organizations who sued New York City in 2013 in Brooklyn federal court claiming they were targeted by police surveillance.

The new deal gives the civilian representative the power to report on violations of the guidelines to the court at any time, and requires the mayor to get court approval before removing the representative, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. The earlier version allowed the mayor to eliminate the position after five years.

The civilian representative can now also review how investigations are conducted, not just how they are started or extended. [MORE]

In October 2015 the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] revived [JURIST report] the civil rights lawsuit filed by a coalition of Muslim groups that accused the NYPD of conducting unjustified surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey. In April 2014 the new commissioner of the NYPD William Bratton announced [JURIST report] the disbanding of the Demographics Unit surveillance unit used to spy on the Muslim communities. In February 2014 a judge for the US District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled [JURIST report] that the NYPD's surveillance of Muslims was a lawful effort for national security and did not constitute harm or violation of civil rights. The Muslim Advocates filed [JURIST report] the lawsuit in 2012. In September 2013 former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly admitted [JURIST report] that the NYPD spied on mosques and on a Muslim preacher but requested that the court dismiss the complaint.