Five men unfairly convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989 have finally settled a false arrest/imprisonment lawsuit against the City of New York. The five, who became known as "The Central Park Five," were just teenagers at the time of the crime but were...
Don’t Settle For Less
Civil Rights
Wrongful Imprisonment Lawsuit in New York Could Cost the City $25 Million
A false imprisonment lawsuit in New York City could cost the Big Apple $25 million-over $1 million for every year an innocent man spent behind bars. Derrick Deacon was locked up for a crime he didn't commit in 1989 after a trial that, new court documents allege, was...
False Arrest Costs New York City $300K
An incident involving an alleged snowball has cost New York an estimated $300,000. The money will be split evenly between five plaintiffs who filed a false arrest lawsuit New York City after being held in jail for a period of time in February of 2010. The men were...
Man Suffers 14-Year False Imprisonment for a Crime He Didn’t Commit
A false arrest in New York 14 years ago has a happy ending for a Long Island man. Johnny O'Neal was falsely imprisoned 14 years ago for a rape, a rape of which he was recently cleared. Mr. O'Neal now plans to sue New York officials (including "those responsible") for...
Are NYPD Marijuana Arrests Racially Biased?
Are loopholes in 37-year old laws leading to an increase of false arrests in NYC? If so, are NYPD officers using racial profiling to artificially boost possession charges among minorities? According to at least one public advocacy group they are. The NYPD's own arrest...
Stop and Frisk Ruling Opens Door for Civil Rights Lawsuits
District Judge Shira Scheindlin says that the New York Police Department's policy of Stop and Frisk violates civil rights afforded to American citizens and that the policy is essentially "indirect racial profiling." The controversial policy has been lauded by Mayor...
Rikers Island Inmates Suffer Higher than Average Rates of Traumatic Brain Injury
A groundbreaking new study involving adolescent male and female inmates incarcerated at Rikers Island has uncovered some shocking news. These inmates suffer much higher rates of traumatic brain injury (sometimes called TBI) than the general population. After extensive...
Violence at vigil for teenager shot by police; another case of excessive force?
In protecting the citizens of New York, the officers of the NYPD often have to make quick decisions under stressful conditions. Often, the officers have to balance the safety and need to protect the public against other matters- such as civil rights.A few weeks ago,...
Has an over zealous NYPD breached civil liberties?
America has come a long way since Martin Luther King's day- but not far enough, it seems.It has recently come to light that the NYPD is supposedly still keeping Muslims under surveillance. In the 1960's and 1970's, political surveillance of Muslims was widespread....
NYPD Under Fire for Possible Excessive Force in Queens Teen’s Arrest
The teenage victim and several eye witnesses are saying that officers of the New York City Police Department acted with excessive force when subduing the 19-year old outside a youth center in Queens last month. On January 8th, Robert Jackson was arrested outside the...