On February 19, 2009, the plaintiff, a New York resident of South Asian ethnicity, filed a lawsuit against the City of New York in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, under 42 U.S.C. §1983 The plaintiff, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union, asked the court for a declaratory judgment that the City of New York's policing practices violated the Equal Protection Clause, and for injunctive relief mandating training, supervision, and monitoring to ensure that people are selected for searches without bias.

Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that in 2005 the City of New York established a subway-bag search program that encouraged racial profiling by officers, because officers do not need to report any demographic data on selected persons, and because allegedly officers have total discretion to set what fraction of passengers they search and may change that number at will. The plaintiff claimed that officers selected him twenty-one times over three years, a very disproportionate number. Officers stopped his partner, who is white, only once during the same three-year period. He alleged that this was based on his race, pointing out that officers stopped him in his work scrubs, in a suit, and while he was wearing casual clothing.

The complaint explained that the plaintiff had reported these searches to the Civilian Complaint Review Board ("CCRB") eight times, but nothing was done to address his complaints. On May 20, 2009, the Court entered an order of dismissal after the parties reached a settlement.

On June 30, 2009, the Court entered the stipulation and order of settlement. The settlement stipulated that the City of New York would pay the plaintiff $10,000, plus $15,000 in attorneys' fees/expenses. In return, he agreed to dismiss his claims and release the defendants from any liability resulting from the events alleged in the complaint.

Nick Kabat - 03/17/2014


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