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Corporation Counsel Report Pursuant to Executive Order 58 (June 20, 2020) Directing an Analysis of Factors Impacting the George Floyd Protests in New York City

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Corporation Counsel Report Pursuant to Executive Order 58 (June 20, 2020) Directing an Analysis of Factors Impacting the George Floyd Protests in New York City New York City Law Department Corporation Counsel Report Pursuant to Executive Order 58 (June 20, 2020) Directing an Analysis of Factors Impacting the George Floyd Protests in New York City James E. Johnson Corporation Counsel December 2020 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Executive Summary......................................................................................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 II. Methodology .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 III. Findings ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 A. The Context of the Protests and the Police Department’s Response ....................................... 9 1. The COVID-19 Pandemic ........................................................................................................... 9 a. The Pandemic’s Effect on the Public ..................................................................................... 9 i. The Impact on Public Health........................................................................................... 9 ii. The Economic Impact .................................................................................................... 11 iii. The Impact on Mental Health ....................................................................................... 13 b. The Pandemic’s Impact on NYPD Officers ....................................................................... 15 2. The Nature of the Protests ........................................................................................................ 17 a. The Content of the Protests .................................................................................................. 18 b. The Size, Number, and Location of the Protests ............................................................... 21 3. The Interplay Between the Pandemic and the Nature of the Protests ............................................................................................................................................ 23 a. The Interplay Between the Content of the Protests and the Pandemic May Have Intensified Interactions at the Protests ............................................................. 23 b. The Interplay Between the Nature of the Protests and the Pandemic May Have Impacted the NYPD’s Performance at the Protests ...................................... 27 B. Interagency and Operational Development .................................................................................... 28 1. Tools for Organizational Learning – After-Actions, Sentinel Event Reviews, and Tabletop Exercises ........................................................................................... 29 2. NYPD’s Current Self-Assessment Practices ........................................................................ 30 a. Internal Assessment ................................................................................................................ 31 b. External Feedback ................................................................................................................... 33 3. Lack of Formal Self-Assessment as a Potential Factor in the George Floyd Protests ................................................................................................................................ 34 C. Assessment of NYPD’s Training Regarding Protest Policing .................................................. 35 1. Overview of NYPD Training Regarding Protest Policing .............................................. 35 a. Academy Training for NYPD Recruits and Experienced Officers ................................. 35 b. Strategic Response Group Training ...................................................................................... 36 c. Recent Updates to Training ................................................................................................... 36 2. The Impact of Limited Training in Protest Situations ..................................................... 36 3. The Content and Focus of the NYPD's Training for Protests. ...................................... 38 a. Maintaining Emotional Control vs. Habitual Response to Take Control ...................................................................................................................................... 38 b. De-Escalation ........................................................................................................................... 40 c. Crowd Psychology and Behavior .......................................................................................... 40 d. Framing and The First Amendment ..................................................................................... 42 4. Comparative Review .................................................................................................................... 43 IV. Strategic Consideration Based on Practices Around the Nation ......................................................... 46 a. An Investment in Supervisors ............................................................................................... 46 b. Strategic Checklist for First Amendment Events ............................................................... 46 V. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 50 VI. Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................. 50 i Executive Summary Before the nation’s eyes, George Floyd was killed by a police officer who held his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck. Statements of outrage were soon followed by protests across the nation, including in New York City. While most of the protests in the City came and went without incident, some involved intense verbal and physical conflict between protesters and police. Scores of protesters and police officers suffered injuries, with many requiring hospital treatment.1 To better understand the contributing factors to the protests of late May and early June, on June 20, 2020, Mayor de Blasio issued Executive Order Number 58 (“E.O. 58”), entitled “Independent Investigation into Enforcement Actions by the New York City Police Department in Connection with Protest Activities”. In E.O. 58, the Mayor directed the Corporation Counsel to conduct an “analysis …of factors that may have impacted the events at protests” which would be released in a public report. Through E.O. 58, the Mayor also directed the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) to conduct a factual investigation of the events surrounding the protests and an evaluation of the response of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD” or “Department”). DOI issued its report on December 18, 2020 (“DOI Report”).2 To conduct this analysis, the Corporation Counsel assembled a special Law Department review team – walled off from other Law Department attorneys who may work on litigation related to the George Floyd protests – to review a broad range of materials and resources, including government, academic, and advocacy group reports, records and data, as well as NYPD documents, policies, and other materials related to the policing of protests3. This documentary research was supplemented by conversations with NYPD officials, citywide data analysts, oversight professionals from other cities, and a variety of other groups and individuals. In addition, the Law Department engaged and consulted with third-party subject matter experts of national standing to provide input in four distinct areas: (a) policing protests; (b) management of high-impact events from the perspective of senior managers; (c) crisis response from the perspective of officers; and (d) organizational behavior. Through this analysis, the Law Department identified several factors that may have contributed to the intensity of the protests. • The COVID-19 Pandemic: The fact that the George Floyd protests occurred during a once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be understated. The pandemic significantly affected the physical health, the economic health, and the mental health of New Yorkers, falling hardest * The Corporation Counsel extends his gratitude to the members of the review team: Chief of Staff Asim Rehman, Senior Counsel Andrew Almonte, Senior Counsel Andrea Berger, Senior Counsel Rebecca Lipman, and Assistant Corporation Counsel Gavin Mackie. The review team was supported by Chief Ethics Officer Karen Griffin, Deputy Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Juvenile Justice Policy Thomas Giovanni, Deputy Chief for Strategic Litigation Tonya Jenerette, Executive Secretary Nakisha Coulter-Guillory, and Paralegal Takia Chandler. 1 Between May 28, 2020, and June 8, 2020, 386 New York City Police Department members of the service were injured and 253 were hospitalized as a result of the protests. While the Law Department reviewed various anecdotal accounts of protestor injuries and hospitalizations, precise figures are not known at this time. 2 See NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF INVESTIGATION, INVESTIGATION INTO NYPD RESPONSE
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