New York’s state Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday sued New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and the city’s police commissioner over allegations the police used excessive force against protesters after the death of George Floyd in May.
The federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleges the police repeatedly and without justification used batons and other physical force against protesters, many of whom were never charged with a crime, causing broken bones and concussions among other injuries.
The lawsuit said the police violated protesters’ rights, and is seeking a court order to mandate policies, training and monitoring to assure an end to practices it characterized as unlawful, Reuters reports.
De Blasio and the police department both said in statements they supported major discipline reforms but opposed the lawsuit.
“A court process and the added bureaucracy of a federal monitor will not speed up this work,” the mayor said.