NYPD

02/27/2012
NYPD Muslim Surveillance

NYPD Used White House Funds to Spy on Muslims

By Ateqah Khaki at 5:19pm

The ACLU and New York Civil Liberties Union are calling for a federal investigation into the reported use of White House funds by the NYPD for its religious and racial profiling activities.

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02/24/2012
NYPD Muslim Surveillance

Associated Press Report Confirms Widespread Secret NYPD Surveillance of Innocent Muslims

By Mitra Ebadolahi, Legal Fellow, ACLU National Security Project at 3:33pm

Yesterday, the Associated Press published the latest in its series of investigative articles documenting the New York Police Department’s sweeping surveillance of Muslims in the years since the 9/11 attacks. The article provides new details of the NYPD’s unchecked religious profiling: informants known within the NYPD as “mosque crawlers” secretly infiltrated houses of worship throughout the city and as far afield as New Jersey in 2005 and 2006. This story is now all too familiar. The NYPD has reacted to the threat of future terrorism by casting a wide net of suspicion over entire communities based solely on their religious beliefs, race, or national origin.

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02/22/2012
Racial Profiling

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Should Investigate Spying and Religious Profiling by NYPD

By Josh Bell, Media Strategist, ACLU at 5:31pm

Today the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union called on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to investigate religious and racial profiling by the New York Police Department.

In a series of articles, the Associated Press reports the NYPD spied on mosques and Muslim college students far outside New York City, without evidence or allegations of criminal activity. The NYPD surveilled mosques and businesses in Muslim and ethnic communities in Newark and on Long Island, and monitored college students in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, according to documents released by the AP.

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02/08/2012
NYPD

Empirical Study Confirms That American Muslims Do Not Pose a Threat of "Homegrown Terror"

By Nusrat Choudhury, Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 12:49pm

Today, the N.Y. Times reported that Charles Kurzman, author of a study by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, concludes American Muslims pose "a minuscule threat to public safety." The report found that 20 American Muslims were charged in violent plots or attacks in 2011, down from 26 in 2010 and 47 in 2009. It also found that not a single murder in 2011 resulted from extremist violence by Muslims in the United States.

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02/02/2012
NYPD

NYC Marijuana Arrests Still Too High

By Rachel Myers, ACLU at 3:43pm

The New York City Police Department made a near-record number of low-level marijuana arrests in 2011, surpassing 2010 and making 2011 the second-most prolific period for marijuana arrests in NYC history. The 50,684 arrest occurred despite the fact that possessing a small amount of marijuana is not a crime in New York unless it is in public view.

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12/08/2011
NYPD

NYPD Pot Arrests Habit Proves Tough to Break

By Jennifer Carnig, New York Civil Liberties Union at 5:20pm

The NYPD has a pot problem. For more than a decade, its officers have made a massive habit of unlawfully arresting New Yorkers for carrying small amounts of marijuana in their pockets or bags. It’s proving to be a tough habit to break, despite NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s recent acknowledgment of the problem.

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09/27/2011
Videotaping

ACLU Lens: Wall Street Protest Enters Second Week

By Jennifer Carnig, New York Civil Liberties Union at 6:49pm

For the past 10 days, scores of demonstrators have occupied Zuccotti Park near Wall Street to protest what they believe are entrenched inequities in the nation’s financial system.

In response to the peaceful demonstration, the NYPD has flooded the Financial District with police officers and has erected labyrinths of steel barricades along sidewalks in front of the Stock Exchange and around the famous bull statue on Broadway.

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09/26/2011
Protestors' Rights

NYCLU on the Scene at Wall Street Protests

By Jennifer Carnig, New York Civil Liberties Union at 5:49pm

Inspired by the Arab Spring, a group of a few hundred protesters have occupied a park right off of Wall Street for more than a week, seeking attention for what they call a greedy and unjust financial system.  The staff of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has been on the scene talking to protesters, learning about their experiences with police, and passing out Know Your Rights guides on protesting in New York City and on surviving police encounters.

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09/26/2011
NYPD

Big Step Forward: NYPD Orders Officers to Stop Unlawful Marijuana Arrests

By Donna Lieberman, New York Civil Liberties Union at 4:02pm

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has issued a directive ordering officers to stop arresting people for misdemeanor marijuana possession when the pot only becomes "public" because an officer has searched a person or directed the person to empty his or her pockets.

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09/12/2011
NYPD

The Courage to Be Safe and Free

By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:52pm

Once the shock subsided, we set out to determine what new powers the government would seek in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The smoke billowing from the Pentagon was visible over Washington as I met with several ACLU colleagues from around the country in a Dupont Circle hotel. We watched the tragedy unfold on television, looking out on streams of frightened pedestrians uncertain the attacks were over.

"Ten years later, as we remember and mourn those who died on Sepetember 11th, our nation still faces the challenge of remaining both safe and free."

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