S.T.O.P., Quinn Emanuel Hold Press Conference Ahead of Landmark Court Hearing On NYPD Public Records

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For Immediate Release S.T.O.P., Quinn Emanuel Hold Press Conference Ahead of Landmark Court Hearing On NYPD Public Records (New York, NY 11/8/23) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP held a joint press conference outside of the New York State Supreme Civil Court in Manhattan ahead of a hearing on a lawsuit filed by both groups earlier this year. The landmark lawsuit alleges that the NYPD engages in a pattern of unlawfully refusing to respond to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, citing delays in 42,000 requests over the past four years. 2,700 documents on the NYPD’s use of surveillance technology on Black Lives Matter protestors are included among those delayed requests. If successful, the case would overhaul how the NYPD replies to FOIL requests from journalists, lawyers, and the public. SEE: Photos and Videos of Press Conference https://web.tresorit.com/l/X7E9O#qpXNzEtJ5Dj2GNC_daqQFw Press Release - S.T.O.P., Quinn Emanuel Sue NYPD For Systematically Hiding Public Records https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/3/22/stop-quinn-emanuel-sue-nypd-for-systematically-hiding-public-records “If NYPD had nothing to hide, they would have no problem responding to public records requests in a timely manner,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Staff Attorney Nina Loshkajian. “The Freedom of Information Law gives New Yorkers a right to public records, but NYPD has shown a clear pattern and practice of delaying or refusing to respond to requests. NYPD is not above the law, and must stop withholding public records from journalists, lawyers, activists, and everyday New Yorkers demanding transparency from the department.” "New Yorkers already know NYPD abuses flourish in the shadows and their noncompliance with FOIL reveals yet another way the NYPD systematically undermines oversight of its abuses," said Surveillance Resistance Lab Senior Researcher Alli Finn. "While the NYPD installs cameras on our corners, amasses our faces in databases, and stealthily scours social media, the department simultaneously blocks the public’s ability to investigate them. This is governance through control rather than consent. Injustice results, as only those with the resources to litigate demands for information have meaningful access to shaping government accountability. May this court finally condemn the NYPD’s anti-democratic seizure of the narrative through manipulation of laws intended to liberate information—and us all." The court hearing comes after the NYPD has postponed a New York City Council hearing three times in a row on the department’s noncompliance with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, a law passed in 2020 which requires the NYPD to disclose its purchase and use of surveillance technologies. In March, S.T.O.P. welcomed a report from Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the NYPD that showed NYPD continues to reject more than 93% of its recommendations for how to fully comply with the POST Act. SEE: The City - For Third Time, NYPD Bows Out of Council Hearing on High-Tech Surveillance https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/10/31/nypd-drones-surveillance-council-hearing/ City and State - NYPD may be violating police surveillance transparency law https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2023/04/nypd-may-be-violating-police-surveillance-transparency-law/385173/ Press Release - S.T.O.P. Welcomes OIG Findings That NYPD Breaks Surveillance Law https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/3/30/stop-welcomes-oig-findings-that-nypd-breaks-surveillance-law 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. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.