After Lawsuits, Police Alter Methods of Crowd Control

The New York Police Department has settled two lawsuits filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union over its crowd control tactics at protests.

In settling one suit, the police department recently agreed to advise mounted police officers to warn people to disperse before using horses to break up crowds. The suit accused the department of using horses to knock down protesters.

Under the other settlement, the department agreed to implement a policy requiring that police barriers at demonstrations do not "unreasonably restrict access to and participation in the event," according to an amendment to the department's Patrol Guide that is part of the settlement.

The city is also paying attorneys' fees of $100,000 to the civil liberties union and payments of $10,000 to the estate of a participant in a protest who has died since the suit was filed in 2003. Another participant in a protest, Jeremy Conrad, will receive $15,000.

The lawsuits stemmed from anti-war protests in the city during the buildup to the Iraq war. The judge hearing the suits, Robert Sweet of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, had previously issued an order requiring the police department to temporarily follow some of the rules that are now being made permanent.