Summer's Subway Pug Saga Comes to an End... For Now

Jon Hill/Gothamist

Chrissie Brodigan, the pug owner whose shocking arrest gripped the city this summer, has had her final ticket dismissed. Issued for disorderly conduct because Brodigan was vehemently arguing with arresting officer Joel Witriol, the ticket was ultimately tossed today because it was written incorrectly (as were the other two, in addition to being manually altered after the fact). Brodigan's lawyer speculates that Witriol may have intentionally made mistakes on the tickets so they would be dismissed on a technicality and ensure that Brodigan could not challenge the charges on their merits.

Brodigan has filed a complaint with the CCRB over the incident, as have two witnesses. But she tells us, "There's no real satisfaction in having the charges dismissed because the tickets were written incorrectly; rather, the real issue is that they should have been dismissed because they were unlawful and in violation of my civil rights."

Brodigan ultimately lost her job at Plum TV in the fallout from affair; the termination may have been prompted by unsubstantiated witness accounts published by the Post, claiming that Brodigan shouted anti-Semitic slurs against Officer Witriol, who is one of the city's only Hasidic cops. But the Post's only attributed source, Viane Delgado, has yet to come forward to defend her shocking comments about Brodigan. Viane! Speak now or forever hold your peace inside some tabloid hack's imagination.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on September 22, 2009 4:40 PM

Comments [rss]

ProcedureTurn

This chriss lady seems like a real trouble maker. Must be bad parenting. We should get along with our hasdic friends, even if they are police officers. I wouldnt want someone like this working for me either. kudos for the dismissal. Well warranted it seems. Chrisse needs to learn her lessonand not judge people by their religion.

felixthecat2

Poor Chrissie, the city was too afraid to take this false arrest to trial. But continue your fight against the city and NYPD and the NY POST for their false witness and for labeling you as anti-semitic when you aren't . i hope this hasidic cop is miserable ALL DAY ALL NIGHT.

ribaldry

I miss the hipster grifter.

dgeee

I hope she sues the city, the NYPD and the employer who fired her for allegedly making an anti-semitic comment to the sleazy scumbag cop.

Manitoba2

Me too! Then we can continue to be constantly updated about this idiot's worthless life.

blackwhole

Carrying a dog on the subway is a civil right? Thank you Thomas Jefferson!

McFister

BORING!

MrManhattan

Wouldn't "manually altered after the fact" be synonymous with "tampering with evidence"??

Why is this cop not on desk duty with no badge or gun, awaiting false arrest and assault charges. Where does he think this is, Antigua???

jaycjay

"Wouldn't "manually altered after the fact" be synonymous with "tampering with evidence"??"

Technically, no. It's a charging document, not evidence.

MrManhattan

Contemporaneously created documents don't constitute "evidence"? That's almost as good as Clinton's "that depends what "is" means" dodge.

jaycjay

Some "contemporaneously created documents" no doubt are evidence of something. A citation, though, is only an affidavit stating that evidence -- the officer's eyewitness testimony -- exists to support a charge. In itself, no, it isn't evidence that a crime or violation was committed.

Gothampc

"Brodigan shouted anti-Semitic slurs against Officer Witriol, who is one of the city's only Hasidic cops."

Either a person is one of a group of cops or a person is the only cop. A person can't be both.

Gothampc

Sorry for the DP.

Gothampc

"Brodigan shouted anti-Semitic slurs against Officer Witriol, who is one of the city's only Hasidic cops."

Either a person is one of a group of cops or a person is the only cop. A person can't be both.

jaycjay

Yep, that misuse of 'only' is one of my few pet peeves.

drewo

City time and money wasted on this whole thing.

matty

i am embarassed for ever commenting on this. lol.

Rocknrope

Does anyone else think its total bullshit that this woman was fired over some heresay comments that only one person heard and who still will not come forward to verify said comments?

Yeah, yeah, "NY is at-will employment" blahblahblah, but still, you would have thought the employer would have at least waited until all the facts of the case were confirmed before letting her go. It doesn't seem right.

Let's hope none of us is ever accused of something that makes it into the public eye.