On August 31, 2015, an African-American police officer, and others similarly situated, filed a class action suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Plaintiffs allegeed that over the past decade and continuing to the time of the filing, the NYPD had pursued an unofficial policy of directing, instructing, compelling and mandating its employees to perform a mandatory numbers of arrests, issue a mandatory number of summons or write a mandatory number of tickets (quota) for a defined period of time. Plaintiffs alleged that the New York City Police Department had violated the Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights by punishing and retaliating against them for complaining and speaking out against the quotas. They further alleged the NYPD had violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights and violated employment discrimination laws under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by discriminating against the Plaintiffs on the basis of race and national origin in the administration of disciplinary measures for failure to meet the quota. The Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief and compensatory damages.

On December 2015, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. On January 11, 2016, the New York City Police Department moved to dismiss the amended complaint, asserting that the complaint failed to properly state the claims alleged. On March 6, 2017, Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted the Department's motion to dismiss, but allowed the Plaintiffs to make a motion for leave to replead the claims and requests for relief. On May 14, 2017, the Plaintiffs filed a memorandum of law in support of their motion for leave to file a second amended complaint.

The case is still ongoing pending the court’s decision on the Plaintiffs’ motion to replead.

Maria Ricaurte - 03/14/2016
Lisa Limb - 03/23/2018


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