NEW YORK — The NYPD announced Thursday it will update its guidelines and adopt a civilian monitor to settle two racial-profiling lawsuits that claimed the NYPD unlawfully spied on Muslims — even as the department continues to deny any wrongdoing.
The new policies will seek to prohibit racial profiling, limit the use of undercover officers and impose a time limit on open investigations, authorities said.
This settlement comes after a year of negotiations in the cases of Raza V. City of New York and Handschu V. Special Services Division, which claimed the NYPD had officers and informants infiltrate mosques, universities and websites to monitor the conversations of Muslim New Yorkers because of their religion.
“We are committed to strengthening the relationship between our administration and communities of faith so that residents of every background feel respected and protected,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “New York City’s Muslim residents are strong partners in the fight against terrorism, and this settlement represents another important step toward building our relationship with the Muslim community.”
Commissioner Bill Bratton said the new guidelines, which must first be approved by a federal judge, will “increase trust” in investigative practices.“The modifications also bring the guidelines closer in line with FBI practices, which is helpful in working collaboratively with our federal partners,” Bratton said.
Denying the city acted improperly, the NYPD agreed to put into its guidelines that officers will not be able to launch investigations without having factual allegations first — although they will not have to verify they're accurate.
The NYPD also agreed to include a policy noting the impact investigations have on constitutionally protected activities like religious worship and delete a controversial 2007 report named “Radicalization in the West” from its website.
Updates will be made to the Handschu guidelines, which govern investigations into terrorism and illegal political activity. They were last modified after 9/11.
The lawsuits were filed in 2013 by three religious and community leaders, two mosques and one charitable organization that were targeted by the NYPD's religious profiling program, representatives said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the settlement sends a powerful message at a time of increased Islamophobia.
The NYPD’s actions constituted “bias-based policing,” ACLU National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi said.
“We believe we have made important progress with this settlement, not only for New York Muslim communities but for other minorities in New York and beyond,” said Imam Hamid Hassan Raza, the lead plaintiff in the Raza case.
John Miller, deputy commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, will continue to have "sole authority over all intelligence investigations and decisions" while consulting an advisory committee and a civilian representative, officials said. The monitor will be appointed by the Mayor and be bound to a confidentiality agreement in a position that will last a minimum of five years.
With the advisory committee's consent, Miller can extend investigations past their duration limits: 18 months for preliminary investigations, three years for full investigations and five years for terrorism enterprise cases.
"The proposed settlement does not weaken the NYPD's ability to fulfill its steadfast commitment to investigate and prevent terrorist activity in New York City," Miller said.
