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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Wednesday, February 8, 2017, 1:42 PM

The NYPD must disclose documents and video revealing surveillance of Black Lives Matter protestors at Grand Central Terminal in 2014 and 2015, a judge has ruled.

The case, brought by protester James Logue, challenged the NYPDs denial of a Freedom of Information Law request for information on its monitoring of rallies following the police killings of Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

Logue decided to file the request after suspecting that police were compiling dossiers on individuals at the peaceful protest, his attorney David Thompson said.

The NYPD had argued that revealing its tactics would interfere with law enforcement work.

Undercover NYPD, MTA watched Black Lives Matters protestors

But Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez ruled the NYPD could not decline to comply with the law on such overly broad grounds.

NYPD authorities make blanket assertions and fail to particularize or distinguish their surveillance or undercover techniques and records, Mendez wrote, adding that the department had failed to show why the use of redactions could not protect ongoing investigative work.

The judge noted that the MTA and Metro-North, which also monitored the rallies, responded to Logue's FOIL request with some paperwork. Mendez ordered the NYPD to comply with Logues request within 30 days. He signed the ruling Monday, though it was made public Wednesday.

Thompson said NYPD routinely flouted state law regarding disclosure of documents that should be public.

Black Lives Matter says NYPD spied on group during Garner protest

Their practice is to simply deny all the requests, he said, adding that he hoped the ruling would lead to a change in practice.

We have a right to expect law enforcement to obey laws.

In August 2015, it emerged that the MTA and NYPD had undercover and plain-clothes cops to monitor die-ins at Grand Central.

We are reviewing the decision with the NYPD, and will respond accordingly, a city Law Department spokesman said.

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EXCLUSIVE: NYPD must disclose surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters at Grand Central Terminal - New York Daily News