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NYPD To Revise Patrol Guide After Stop-And-Frisk Lawsuit Settlement

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The NYPD will revise its patrol guide and training materials over stop-and-frisk practices in New York City Housing Authority buildings, as part of a preliminary agreement to settle a lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in 2010, was one of three filed in recent years against the NYPD, and dealt specifically with the stop-and-frisk practice in the city's public housing. Plaintiffs accused the NYPD of racially discriminating and making unlawful stops and arrests of residents and their visitors.

The agreement needs final approval from U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin.

Another lawsuit filed in 2008 challenged the practice in the city overall. In that case, Scheindlin ruled after civil trial in 2013 that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy sometimes discriminated against minorities. She ordered sweeping reforms and installed a monitor to oversee the changes.

Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration appealed her decision, but Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the appeal when he took office, as he had said he would do in his campaign.

The police practice was de Blasio's biggest campaign issue and helped propel him to the top of the pack during the Democratic mayoral primary in 2013.

Upon Scheindlin's approval of the preliminary agreement in the housing lawsuit, the matter would fall under the same appointed monitor.

In the preliminary settlement, the defendants in the lawsuit didn't admit to any wrongdoing.

``This settlement appropriately balances the need to maximize public safety while respecting the constitutional rights of NYCHA residents and their guests,'' the city's law department said.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the settlement ``is an important step forward in the struggle for more equitable policing, but it is just the beginning. The real work lies ahead as we partner with others to reform the NYPD through the court-ordered monitoring process.''

Documents on the settlement were filed Wednesday.

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