Friend,
Back in the spring, we announced that S.T.O.P. filed our first ever class action settlement, winning $17.5 million for New Yorkers who have been harmed by the NYPD. As an update, we’re thrilled to share that the New York City Clerk filed its final approval of the settlement, a victory six years in the making. As a team, we stood up against America’s largest police force and won with our amazing co-counsel at Emery Celli Abady Brinckerhoff Ward & Maazel LLP, and our brave clients, Arwa Aziz and Jamilla Clark.
This case goes back to 2018 and S.T.O.P.’s founding, when we learned that New Yorkers who wear yarmulkes, hijabs, turbans, and other religious head coverings were forced by NYPD to remove them for mugshots. You can wear a religious head covering for your driver’s license photo and your passport, so why not for your arrest photo? Soon after allegations would emerge that the NYPD was illegally using these same mugshots to build a facial recognition database, running even those acquitted of crimes through a perpetual line up.
With this victory, S.T.O.P. is even better positioned to continue our fight against mass surveillance, especially during another Trump era when protecting civil rights is more urgent than ever. This is our first win on this scale, so from the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank all our supporters who made this possible.
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With thanks,
David Siffert
Legal Director
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