Good Old Lower East Side

City Pays Out $50 Million in lawsuit against N.Y.P.D.

Feb 22, 2001

In an interview with Loisaida born community resident and activist Vivian Williams, Loisaida Voice learned of her experience with the court decision that forever changed the direct actions of police brutality in this city of ours, New York.

It all started in May of 1997 when Ms. Williams was arrested for selling her own property on the sidewalk. ?“I didn?‘t know that I needed a license to do that.?” There were about thirty of us arrested, but I was the only woman.?” Ms.
Williams remembers.

Rather than giving her a ticket, Ms. Williams was taken to jail as part of the police sweep along with the others who were allegedly vending on the street. She was held for a total of 48 hours before she was allowed to see a judge. But it was just before her arraignment when her civil rights were violated by jailhouse police. The police subjected her to an illegal strip search.

?“I was shocked,?” Vivian today says. ?“There was no reason to do that, I was no threat. They were trying to intimidate me.?” Luckily, it is not that easy to intimidate Vivian Williams. Within hours of her release from jail she was seeking legal advice on stopping strip-searches. She became part of a class action lawsuit against the City of New York for violating her civil rights in the strip search. In January of 2001 her case was settled and could cost the city 50 million.

Today Vivian realizes that ?“There is not enough money to make up for what happened to me. No one should be humiliated, especially by people our tax dollars employ.?” But the settlement did not just mean money. It means that the city was found guilty of violating the civil rights of Vivian and others. Today there are no more strip searches in New York City jails without cause, because of the fight lead by GOLES?’ own Vivian Williams and other New Yorkers.

If anyone thinks they may be entitled to recover as a class member, they should call 1 866 99 TYSON to get more information and get a copy to the form they need to fill out.

The recording will have information about who is eligible, but here are the basic prerequisites: a p erson is a member of the class if they were (1) arrested on a misdemeanor or non-criminal offense, (2) strip searched while held at a holding facility in Queens or Manhattan, and (3) the arrest and search took place between July 1996 and June 1997. The awards will be given out based on a host of specific factors related to the search and the arrest, but there are guaranteed minimum awards for everyone who meets the above
criteria.