New York state attorney general Letitia James is suing the NYPD over what she termed abusive behavior during protests that occurred in the wake of the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last summer. Time and again, James argues, the police department has "failed" the community by using abusive tactics. It is, as the New York Times notes, an unprecedented step for a state AG to take.
“There was ample ability and opportunity for the city and N.Y.P.D. leadership to make important changes to the way that officers interact with peaceful protesters, but time and time again, they did not,” James said of her lawsuit. “They did not train, they did not supervise, they did not stop officers who engaged in this misconduct,” she continued. “And they did not discipline them either. Instead, they failed the people of the City of New York.”
She's calling for a federal monitor of the department.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who earned the support of thousands of members of the NYPD during her successful campaign against Democratic Rep. Max Rose, spoke out on the new legal effort against the department.
"New York Democrats have put our NYPD under attack for years," she claimed on Fox Business on Friday.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit against the #NYPD adds insult to the injuries police officers suffered that left hundreds of them hospitalized during the summer riots. @NYCPBA @NYCPDDEA @lbanypd @SBANYPD @CeaNypd pic.twitter.com/yc9Vlgh0Zn
— Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) January 15, 2021
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio can be included in the list of New York Democrats who have been less than friendly to the NYPD. In 2014, the mayor accused the department of stoking "distrust" in their local communities. Last year he also shifted $1 billion from the department.
The lawmaker noted that one of the officers named on the lawsuit, Chief Terence Monahan, was himself assaulted by protesters last year. In fact, she recalled that protests left hundreds of officers injured and destroyed several small businesses. James, Malliotakis argued, should be investigating those individuals instead.