In two separate class action complaints, filed in state and federal court, the attorneys said their clients were arrested without justification and placed in cells with other detainees who were not wearing masks to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

A pair of civil rights lawyers sued more than 50 members of the New York City Police Department on Thursday on behalf of plaintiffs who claimed they were subjected to false arrests at Union Square during the mass protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd last May.

In two separate class action complaints, filed in state and federal court, the attorneys said their clients were arrested without justification and placed in cells with other detainees who were not wearing masks to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.