Dozens of protestors arrested — wrists zip-tied and sent into a police van on the Upper East Side of Manhattan Thursday night.

Just some of the many hundreds of people taken into custody since protests erupted across the city after the death of George Floyd. 

 

What You Need To Know


  • The city's criminal courts have expanded capacity to handle the waves of protesters, curfew violators and looters arrested this week.

  • But public defenders say too many people are being held in crowded conditions for too long.

  • At one point, more than 400 were in custody for more than 24 hours.

  • The Legal Aid Society sued the NYPD — charging violations of the city’s 24-hour arrest to arraignment requirement. A judge overturned the suit but Legal Aid issued an emergency appeal Friday.

 

Public defenders say at one point — 400 people citywide were in custody for more than 24 hours — before being released with desk appearance tickets to report back to court at a future date.

Alice Fontier, the managing director of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, says there are concerns the conditions were prime for the coronavirus to spread.

“As people are held in tight quarters, and cramming many people into a van and then moving them into a cell and then moving them through central booking, it is the exact opposite of social distancing,” said Fontier.

When the coronavirus crisis erupted, local courts switched to virtual arraignments and district attorneys generally declined to prosecute low-level crimes. The state Office of Court Administration says the criminal courts have expanded virtual arraignment capacity during all shifts in the past week, so there would be no break in processing arrests. By 1 p.m. Friday — the number of defendants being held more than 24 hours in Manhattan had fallen to 22, but public defenders said even that was too many.

“It is just really these nonsensical arrests the NYPD has taken the position that they don’t have sufficient staffing to process desk appearance tickets,” said Fontier.

The Legal Aid Society sued the NYPD — charging violations of the city’s 24-hour arrest to arraignment requirement. A judge rejected the suit— but Legal Aid filed an emergency appeal. The NYPD says it is working as fast and safely as possible to process arrests quickly. 

An Infectious Disease Specialist at Northwell Health, fears an increase coronavirus cases because of the detention conditions.

“Having people inside in close quarters is a real concern. And don’t get me wrong — having people in close contact with each other outside is also an concern. But I think there’s a difference between the outside environment and the inside environment,” said Dr. David Hirschwerk.

Hirschwerk says he agrees with Governor Cuomo’s sentiments, that if you are protesting consider yourself exposed to the virus and seek testing.