In a striking sign that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) will part ways with his predecessor when it comes to law enforcement and civil liberties, the New York Police Department has terminated a controversial program that spied on the city's Muslim communities, reports The New York Times.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NYPD used plainclothes officers to keep tabs on Muslim community leaders, mosques, and charities. Yet officers often had no reason to suspect their targets were guilty of any wrongdoing, prompting a fierce backlash — and multiple lawsuits — when the program was revealed in 2011. In filing a lawsuit against the NYPD last year, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged that the program "operates under the unconstitutional premise that Muslim beliefs and practices are a basis for law enforcement scrutiny."
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