For Immediate Release
NYC Council Member Hanif, S.T.O.P. Demand Criminal Investigation Into NYPD Surveillance Perjury
(NEW YORK, NY, 4/21/2022) – Today, New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the Council, and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, submitted a referral letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg demanding the investigation of apparent perjury by NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller. The letter states that Miller falsely claimed under oath that the NYPD had not engaged in the systematic surveillance of Muslim communities. Hanif and S.T.O.P. condemned Miller’s testimony for dismissing the New York City Police Department’s well-documented history of anti-Muslim surveillance and significantly undermining Council oversight functions by failing to provide truthful information during a New York City Council committee hearing.
SEE: Letter of Referral To New York District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. Of NYPD Commissioner John Miller
https://www.stopspying.org/s/2022-04-21-Letter-to-Alvin-Bragg.pdf
NY Daily News - NYC Councilwoman wants top NYPD official investigated for possible perjury after Muslim surveillance comments
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nypd-muslim-surveillance-nyc-councilwoman-shahana-hanif-20220420-dzfa6w2hi5bizbsc4p6v6qoywm-story.html
“John Miller committed perjury and he must be held to account. To tell a Muslim New Yorker that the well-documented surveillance of our community didn’t happen is so absurd it is almost hard to believe it happened,” said New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif. “New Yorkers elected this Council to hold our public institutions, like the NYPD, accountable, and when John Miller lied he undermined the Council’s critical oversight function. I don’t take this perjury referral lightly, but New Yorkers deserve accountability.”
“When the police can lie under oath and rewrite history, it undermines the foundation of democracy,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “The NYPD was wrong to spy, and it’s wrong to deny it. This isn’t just offensive, it’s dangerous. There need to be consequences when those sworn to uphold the law violate it in plain site. But more than just holding one man accountable, this is a reminder to New Yorkers that we’ve never held the NYPD accountable for its bigoted surveillance program. The NYPD’s anti-Muslim campaign upended New Yorkers lives and cemented bigotry into the heart of our policing. There must be consequences for that.”
The referral letter comes after Mayor Eric Adams condemned Miller’s false statements, acknowledging NYPD’s targeted surveillance of Muslim communities in the wake of 9/11. Last month, prominent New York City Muslim leaders held a closed-door meeting with Adams calling for the censure of Miller, with Council Member Hanif demanding he be fired.
SEE: NY Daily News - Mayor Adams condemns NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims after top cop downplays it: ‘What we did was wrong’
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nypd-john-miller-muslim-new-yorkers-outrage-20220321-ldxukd7fhngotp5hlzxxz4yiki-story.html
Politico - Muslim leaders want NYPD official censured for denying post-9/11 surveillance
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/23/muslim-leaders-want-nypd-official-censured-00019450
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
About Council Member Shahana Hanif: Council Member Shahana Hanif is the Council Member for Brooklyn’s 39th District, Chair of the Council's Immigration Committee, and Co-Chair of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus. Born and raised in Kensington, Brooklyn, she is the daughter of two Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants. She is a product of public schools, having attended P.S. 230 and Brooklyn College, and is an activist, community organizer, and public servant. Before being elected to office, she served as the Director of Organizing and Community Engagement in Former Council Member, now Comptroller, Brad Lander’s office, where she led grassroots initiatives like Participatory Budgeting. Shahana is the first Muslim woman ever elected to the New York City Council and the first woman Council Member for the 39th District.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn
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