The following statement is from John E. Reid & Associates (‘Reid’):

Reid sued Netflix for defamation regarding a reference to the Reid Technique of interrogation in the program, When They See Us, in connection with alleged abusive interrogations and coerced confessions of juveniles, known as the Central Park 5, by New York City police in 1989 . The district court dismissed Reid’s case and found that the statements were not defamatory because they were hyperbole rather than factual. The court also found that the statements did not disparage the Reid Technique because what the New York City detective portrayed to be responsible for the alleged abuse and coercion did ‘was not the Reid Technique and could not have been because Sheehan (the detective) did not know what the Reid Technique was.’
The litigation has ended.

Reid has made clear that abusive interrogations and coercive confessions have never been condoned by the Reid Technique, which specifically prohibits physical deprivations, intimidation, unduly long interrogations, threats of consequences, and promises of leniency. Instruction in the Reid Technique has always cautioned that special care should be taken during interrogations of juveniles, including parental supervision.

Netflix and Reid have agreed to a joint statement which is as follows, ‘Netflix and Reid agree that abusive interrogations and coercive confessions have no place in law enforcement’.”