Women Claim They Were Arrested For Being Lost

Two sisters are suing the NYPD over being arrested for simply not knowing where they were going. The women, identified as Miriam and Bracha, were on their way to an engagement party on July 7th, 2009 when they realized their directions had led them astray. A passerby directed them down an apartment complex driveway when a car pulled up behind them. The driver got out and tapped on their window and asked where they were going, and when they said they were lost he reached in and snatched their directions. The man identified himself as a cop, but the women wanted more proof.

Miriam said, "We were two women alone; it was late at night...We didn't trust the badge because there are lots of stories about women being stopped by unidentified cars driven by people with badges who end up raping them." But when Bracha asked if she could use her phone to call 911 and verify he was an officer, the man grabbed her phone, threw it away, then pulled her out of the car and handcuffed her. Miriam tried to call 911, but was pulled out of the car by another man and also handcuffed. Miriam said, "They laughed at us and said, 'Fool, we are the police.'" Well after a statement like that, what more proof could they need?

The officers reportedly accused the sisters of being on drugs, and were issued a summons for disorderly conduct. A judge dismissed the summons a month later, but the sisters say the cops had no right to suspect them of anything. Their attorney said, "What is outrageous is how these young women responded was consummately reasonable, and to penalize them for asking a question such as, 'Show me some credentials' is ridiculous."

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By Jaya Saxena in News on August 30, 2010 4:02 PM

Comments [rss]

jaycjay

"The officers reportedly accused the sisters of being on drugs, and were issued a summons for disorderly conduct."

Oh, really? Well that's good news, anyway, that the officers were issued a citation. So the sisters weren't cited, I gather?

coolmikeperry

Any 12 year old in Harlem knows that asking a cop for his badge number will earn your a trip through the system.

John L

Yes sir!

butterbutter

Anyone want to guess what the ratio of Good Cop to Bad Cop is?

adeez

That's a great question. On one hand, the many commenters who lump ALL police together as bad are the same idiots who lump all bikers, blacks, religious followers, etc. together as monolithic groups.

And it's usually only the bad cops who get the press, so when a cop is doing well it's hardly news.

But shit, there are so many awful, shameless cops that it's in the NYPD's interests to distance itself from their behavior.

In my hypothetical utopia, cops would be paid $60k - $70k to start. To justify this salary, they would be subjected to the most brutal of background checks and only those who are totally above-board would be allowed on the force. And one strike, one abuse of power, and they'd be out. The city would pay for it by the millions they saved on settling lawsuits. It would be an elite, respected profession. Rather than a cesspool attracting the shit that it currently attracts.

l3iodeez

For that money we could force them to wear always-on video cameras. Badge-cam not recording? The cop is off duty. Period, no exceptions. Thats what Id do if I were king.

LaliP

dammit NYPD, get your act together!!! am sick of my tax $$ going to lawsuits due to your obnoxious behavior !!!

unretrofiedforu

First rule of visiting NYC: disregard everything you've heard and read about courtesy, professionalism, respect and things like the bill of rights.

If you are approached by a NYC officer; assume you will be searched without warrant and physically abused. This is Nazi Germany, err Bloomberg's NYC.