From [HERE] The New York City Police Department has reportedly agreed to settle a class action lawsuit challenging its “digital stop and frisk” practice, according to NBC New York.

The challenged NYPD digital stop and frisk practice refers to situations in which officers would conduct a prolonged street stop while they checked for arrest warrants and potential connections to other cases.

Under the terms of the NYPD settlement, officers may only conduct warrant searches during street stops if they have “reasonable suspicion” that the person they stopped was committing or was about to commit a crime, or if there is probable cause that the person had committed a crime.

In addition, the NYPD has reportedly revised its policy on conducting street stops and is training officers on the policy. Under the terms of the NYPD settlement, all officers must be trained on the new policy by Jan. 31.

The NYPD will also pay $453,733 in damages and attorneys’ fees. Each of the five named plaintiffs will receive a payment ranging from $3,000 to $19,000.

Plaintiffs say NYPD digital search and frisk tactics were unconstitutional

The NYPD class action lawsuit was filed in 2019 and alleged that the practice was an unconstitutional violation of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against illegal detention and unlawful search and seizure. Critics raised concerns that officers could stop individuals for minor infractions and use the stop as an excuse to conduct a search into their criminal record.

People of color were often targeted for the NYPD digital stop and frisk practice, according to the class action lawsuit.

“This lawsuit has always been about bringing justice to innocent New Yorkers who are baselessly detained in the street so aggressive NYPD officers can run their IDs,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Cyrus Joubin said.

Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for New York’s law department, noted that the NYPD settlement “was limited to these individual plaintiffs and does not indicate a broad issue.” He says the NYPD will clarify its existing policy to clarify when officers are allowed to check for arrest warrants during a stop.

The NYPD has faced several lawsuits in recent years, including class action lawsuits alleging excessive force and brutality against Black Lives Matters protesters. The police department was also recently hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally made sealed arrest records public.