This class action lawsuit alleges that the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) engages in an unconstitutional practice of detaining people who are required to be released from police custody with a Desk Appearance Ticket (“DAT”) under New York Criminal Procedure Law Section 150.20 (“CPL 150.20”). The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees for the violation of the civil rights of Plaintiffs and others similarly situated.

The lawsuit alleges that NYPD adopted a policy and custom of detaining arrestees in violation of the procedures mandated by CPL 150.20. In 2020, an amendment to CPL 150.20 replaced the word “may” with “shall,” which, as the Supreme Court of New York has noted, “indicat[es] that the statute now serves as a mandate that police officers issue an appearance ticket instead of arresting a person who commits a low-level offense as defined in the statute.” Douglas v. City of N.Y., 190 N.Y.S.3d 847, 853 (Sup. Ct. 2023).

The complaint specifically alleges that Plaintiffs were arrested and detained by NYPD police officers, despite being entitled to DATs. For example, two of the named plaintiffs spent about twenty hours detained in the 32nd Precinct before being transported to Central Booking in lower Manhattan, where they then spent another twelve to eighteen hours before being arraigned. The complaint alleges that Plaintiffs were not arrested for any offense that CPL 150.20 exempted from the DAT requirement.

The complaint alleges that these actions taken by NYPD police officers deprived Plaintiffs, and other similarly situated individuals, of the rights guaranteed by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and of their constitutional rights secured by 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as under New York law.

A copy of the complaint can be found HERE.