NYPD’s ‘Goon Squad’ Comes Under Closer Scrutiny

The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group was formed in 2015 as a counter-terrorism unit. Over the years, its mandate has expanded to include responses to protests, parades and high-profile events such as the UN General Assembly. The “Goon Squad,” as many activists refer to it, is most notorious for crushing non-violent protest especially during the June 2020 George Floyd Uprising.

Yesterday, dozens of the SRG’s victims testified at City Council for nearly five hours about abuse they've endured. The NYPD, meanwhile, declined to show up even as the Council weighs legislation that would curtail the SRG’s role in policing protest.

Activists Demand Disbandment of Controversial NYPD Unit at City Hall Protest and Subsequent Public Hearing
By Mark Banchereau 

From the Archive

The SRG’s assault on New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights doesn’t just happen at major protests. But at countless smaller protests that don’t make the headlines but are crucial to a movement’s ability to grow over time, as we chronicled in this December 2020 cover story. 

Black Lives Matter: The NYPD’s War on Protesters Intensifies
By Amba Guerguerian with John Tarleton

Chi Ossé was a leader in Brooklyn’s 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. He now serves on City Council and is the lead sponsor of a measure to curtail the SRG’s role in policing protest. He recently joined us on The Indypendent News Hour. 

Click here to listen to Chi Ossé on Austerity and Policing

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