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NYPD To Pay $75 Million For Issuing Illegal Summonses To Meet Quotas
NYPD To Pay $75 Million For Issuing Illegal Summonses To Meet Quotas
Photo by Theodore Parisienne for AM New York

NYPD To Pay $75 Million For Issuing Illegal Summonses To Meet Quotas

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Theodore Parisienne for AM New York

A New York federal judge finalized a $75 million settlement the city agreed to pay in a lawsuit claiming that the NYPD issued 900,000 invalid summonses to fill quotas.

The settlement was reached on Monday by Manhattan Federal Judge Robert Sweet, who reportedly referred to the payout as "the second-largest in NYC history." "The non-monetary benefits could be, in the Court's view, 'a game changer' for NYC communities. This civil rights class action is the paradigm of change and progress achievable in a society undergirded by the rule of law," Sweet added. Filed in 2010, the suit focused on "c summonses" officers wrote for minor offenses such as disorderly conduct and drinking in public.

READ: NYPD Launches First Phase Of Body Camera Program

The payout, which includes $18.5 million for attorneys' fees, will allow for New Yorkers to collect payments of up to $150 for each summons. The agreement covers nearly one million summonses issued from May 25, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2015, that were later tossed because they were deemed legally insufficient.

READ: NYC Police Officer Arrested For Fatally Shooting Mentally Ill Black Woman

A part of the ruling, the NYPD has agreed to take a number of steps to protect against quotas, including a department-wide email reminding officers that quotas are wrong and must be reported.

Source: NYDailyNews.com