The New York Police Department has agreed to change how it responds to protests, after reaching a settlement in lawsuits stemming from the department’s violent response to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. The NYPD reached the settlement with New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Legal Aid Society and the New York Civil Liberties Union. As part of the settlement, the NYPD agreed to stop using a tactic called kettling to trap and arrest protesters. Other key elements to the settlement include the creation of a new oversight committee to assess how police respond to protests. New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “Too often peaceful protesters have been met with force that has harmed innocent New Yorkers simply trying to exercise their rights. Today’s agreement will meaningfully change how the NYPD engages with and responds to public demonstrations in New York City.”