New York Civil Liberties Union v. New York City Police Department

The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department to force the disclosure of information about the NYPD’s presence in schools and the impact of school policing on students through the use of metal detectors.

Since 2016, the NYPD has been required to produce data about its metal detector program, including the location of detectors, requests by principals to install or remove them, and items confiscated through scanning. The department has never fully complied with this requirement.

The NYCLU initially filed a Freedom of Information Law request for this information in January 2020 and filed two subsequent appeals in February and March. The NYPD denied most of the request, citing a supposed risk to public safety if the information were released.