NEW YORK—Drawing on the desk, talking back, and arriving late for class—such minor disciplinary infractions have subjected middle and high school students to arrest and mistreatment by New York City Police Department (NYPD) personnel working in public schools.
The growing dissatisfaction from students and parents incited the filing of a class action federal lawsuit on Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), American Civil Liberties Union, and the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP on behalf of five middle school and high school students.
The lawsuit challenges the conduct and behavior of the 5,000 police officers and School Safety Officers (SSOs) who serve in NYPD’s School Safety Division and seeks for system-wide reform in the city’s public schools.
“Aggressive policing is stripping thousands of New York City students of their dignity and disrupting their ability to learn,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a press release.
“We all want safe schools for our children, but the current misguided system promotes neither safety nor learning. Despite mounting evidence of systemic misconduct by police personnel in the schools, the NYPD refuses to even acknowledge any problems with its school policing practices. We are confident that the courts will compel much-needed reform.”
Oct. 7, 2009, at first seemed like another ordinary day for Daija Young, 13, one of the plaintiffs and an eigth-grader at Lou Gehrig Middle School in the Bronx. However, after she confronted two adult strangers who had threatened her in front of her school, an SSO instructed her to go into the school with the strangers.
Frightened, Young told the SSO that she preferred to wait outside for her mother who was coming to pick her up. In response, the SSO grabbed Young by the arm, handcuffed her, forcefully threw her down, and pinned her to the ground.
Young was made to sit handcuffed at a desk until her mother managed to find her. No charges were filed against her, but she required medical attention as a result of the assault.
“I feel unsafe at school,” Young said. “I’m afraid that School Safety Officers could attack me again for no reason. I just want the school year to be over so I can be a normal kid again. I shouldn’t have to be scared of school.”
The lawsuit maintains that the officers’ aggressive behavior toward students who have not committed any crime or impose threat to health and safety are due to inadequate training and poor supervision.
SSOs wear NYPD uniforms and possess the authority to stop, frisk, question, search, and arrest students. While NYPD police officers must complete a six-month training course before being positioned, SSOs receive only 14 weeks of training before being assigned to schools. School administrators have no supervisory authority over the SSOs who patrol their schools.
“Aggressive policing in public schools undermines efforts to create a nurturing and supportive environment for children, and without strict accountability and transparency, too many at-risk youth fall through the cracks and are denied equal educational opportunities,” said Catherine Y. Kim, staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program.
“If you treat children like criminals, they will fulfill those expectations.”
Since NYPD took control of public school safety in the city in 1998, more than 5,000 SSOs, civilian NYPD employees, and armed police officers have been assigned to public schools.
To read the full complaint or watch a video featuring plaintiff Daija Young, please visit http://tinyurl.com/ygvjk7x
The growing dissatisfaction from students and parents incited the filing of a class action federal lawsuit on Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), American Civil Liberties Union, and the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP on behalf of five middle school and high school students.
The lawsuit challenges the conduct and behavior of the 5,000 police officers and School Safety Officers (SSOs) who serve in NYPD’s School Safety Division and seeks for system-wide reform in the city’s public schools.
“Aggressive policing is stripping thousands of New York City students of their dignity and disrupting their ability to learn,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a press release.
“We all want safe schools for our children, but the current misguided system promotes neither safety nor learning. Despite mounting evidence of systemic misconduct by police personnel in the schools, the NYPD refuses to even acknowledge any problems with its school policing practices. We are confident that the courts will compel much-needed reform.”
Oct. 7, 2009, at first seemed like another ordinary day for Daija Young, 13, one of the plaintiffs and an eigth-grader at Lou Gehrig Middle School in the Bronx. However, after she confronted two adult strangers who had threatened her in front of her school, an SSO instructed her to go into the school with the strangers.
Frightened, Young told the SSO that she preferred to wait outside for her mother who was coming to pick her up. In response, the SSO grabbed Young by the arm, handcuffed her, forcefully threw her down, and pinned her to the ground.
Young was made to sit handcuffed at a desk until her mother managed to find her. No charges were filed against her, but she required medical attention as a result of the assault.
“I feel unsafe at school,” Young said. “I’m afraid that School Safety Officers could attack me again for no reason. I just want the school year to be over so I can be a normal kid again. I shouldn’t have to be scared of school.”
The lawsuit maintains that the officers’ aggressive behavior toward students who have not committed any crime or impose threat to health and safety are due to inadequate training and poor supervision.
SSOs wear NYPD uniforms and possess the authority to stop, frisk, question, search, and arrest students. While NYPD police officers must complete a six-month training course before being positioned, SSOs receive only 14 weeks of training before being assigned to schools. School administrators have no supervisory authority over the SSOs who patrol their schools.
“Aggressive policing in public schools undermines efforts to create a nurturing and supportive environment for children, and without strict accountability and transparency, too many at-risk youth fall through the cracks and are denied equal educational opportunities,” said Catherine Y. Kim, staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program.
“If you treat children like criminals, they will fulfill those expectations.”
Since NYPD took control of public school safety in the city in 1998, more than 5,000 SSOs, civilian NYPD employees, and armed police officers have been assigned to public schools.
To read the full complaint or watch a video featuring plaintiff Daija Young, please visit http://tinyurl.com/ygvjk7x
