Name: NYPD Shut Off George Floyd Protesters From Legal Help, Attorneys Charge
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NYPD Shut Off George Floyd Protesters From Legal Help, Attorneys Charge

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SHAREThe NYPD hauled arrested protesters to police headquarters with no way for lawyers or family to find them — and deprived arrestees of the basic right to a phone call, attorneys attempting to represent them charge.&nbsp;More than 2,000 people have been arrested in the city in the last week in relation to the protests and unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to NYPD.&nbsp;Many were brought to One Police Plaza, where attorneys said “critical early representation” became impossible. The lawyers also could not help panicked family members find their loved ones — or help arrestees get water, bathroom breaks or medical treatment, they said.&nbsp;“I tried every number and there was no way through,” said attorney Andrea Ritchie, who was working Saturday night.“If you have the right to a lawyer and the lawyer can’t get through to the number, your right to a lawyer clearly isn’t being respected,” she said.In a letter from the National Lawyers Guild’s Gideon Oliver and most of the city’s public defender organizations to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, attorneys said the city’s “Large Scale Arrest Processing Procedure” deprives arrestees of their normal rights.&nbsp;The letter followed a lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society this week that more than 100 protesters were illegally held more than 24 hours before being released or seeing a judge.&nbsp;A judge rejected the Legal Aid Society’s writ, citing “a crisis within a crisis.”On Thursday, a judge the Legal Aid Society’s writ, citing “a crisis within a crisis.” The group’s lawyers said that while some progress has been made in processing arrestees quicker, they’re “fully ready to appeal if necessary.”“The NYPD is fully responsible for the hundreds of New Yorkers who are currently languishing in cages, deprived of their due process rights and at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement.&nbsp;In the letter to de Blasio and other leaders, lawyers say they have been unable to locate clients, conduct pre-arraignment investigations effectively and invoke people’s rights to remain silent, among other problems.“These barriers to meaningful and reliable communication violate due process and our clients’ right to counsel,” they wrote.The lawyers also charge that protesters can’t always get the wallets, keys and phones taken from them back once they are released because the building’s property window is closed.&nbsp;In the letter, the lawyers demand that NYPD provide a means of tracking and contacting arrestees — including a 24-hour phone line — and open the property window.A spokesperson for the NYPD, Sgt. Jessica McRorie, told THE CITY, “We are working as fast and safely as we can to process arrests during this unprecedented time.”Arrestees long waits in what some said were cramped — and, given the coronavirus pandemic, unhealthy — conditions at One Police Plaza in recent days.&nbsp;One man said there was mass confusion over whether arrestees were allowed a phone call. Another observed an asthmatic man’s requests for an inhaler go unfulfilled.&nbsp;“It’s definitely not a proper due process,” he told THE CITY. “You’re just disappeared.”There was an error. Please try again later.Get THE CITY ScoopSign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to you each morningThank you for your submission!Next Up InMost Popular StoriesThere was an error. Please try again later.Get THE CITY ScoopSign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to you each morningThank you for your submission!In case you missed itThe LatestManhattan lawyer alleges state has been shielding role played by property owner Vornado, which has valuable holdings affected by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Midtown development plan.The mayor and major city unions plan to press the City Council to clear a path for a privatized Medicare plan for retired city workers.Mayor Eric Adams maintains that results showing arsenic in the drinking water at Manhattan’s Riis houses were “questionable” — while not revealing that new clean results come from taps that had been flowing for an extended time first.Beyond the typical excitement among families and educators lurked a more somber reality: a majority of the city’s schools were starting the year with budget cuts.A surcharge added to every yellow or green cab ride could rise from 30 cents to $1 in a new effort to meet a long-blown accessibility deadline.There was an error. Please try again later.Get THE CITY ScoopSign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to you each morningThank you for your submission!

SHAREThe NYPD hauled arrested protesters to police headquarters with no way for lawyers or family to find them — and deprived arrestees of the basic right to a phone call, attorneys attempting to represent them charge.&nbsp;More than 2,000 people have been arrested in the city in the last week in relation to the protests and unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to NYPD.&nbsp;Many were brought to One Police Plaza, where attorneys said “critical early representation” became impossible. The lawyers also could not help panicked family members find...

NYPD Shut Off George Floyd Protesters From Legal Help, Attorneys Charge

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