NYPD Says Tompkins Square "Chess" Arrest Was For An Outstanding Warrant

Lisa standing under the sign in question (Neither More Nor Less).

The woman who claimed to have been locked up for 32 hours for sitting at the chess tables in Tompkins Square Park and not playing chess wasn't exactly telling the whole story, according to a spokesman for the police. But she is sticking to her guns.

Yesterday we told you about Lisa, a woman who according to the blog Neither More Nor Less was arrested while sitting at the tables and was then held for more than a day after an outstanding warrant was revealed. When we wrote about the story we tried to contact the 9th Precinct, which made the arrest, for comment but got nowhere. The Voice, however, had better luck with NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Paul Browne, who tells them that while "park rules may make it a summonsable violation" to sit at the chess tables without a rook, that wasn't what happened here. He says:

She was arrested on an outstanding larceny warrant for stealing a woman's handbag in Gramercy Park, not for park rule violations. She was also wanted on six other outstanding warrants in for theft of services in Manhattan and Queens.

But Lisa is sticking with her story. NMNL updated its original post last night with additional details from Lisa that certainly make it sound like the Police only discovered Lisa's outstanding warrants after she had already been locked up:

Lisa claims that on Thursday June 9, 2011 at some time around 10AM, a lieutenant directed officers to check her I.D. at the chess table at which she and 2 others were sitting. Lisa displayed her I.D. as requested. Two or more males at the table next to her's also had their I.D.s checked. No warrants were checked at the chess tables. The lieutenant instructed officers to take her and the 2 others sitting at her table in violation of the park rule posted high up on the lamp post into custody and remove them to the 9th precinct. Others, including a male sleeping at a table that Lisa claims she knows had no I.D., remained at the tables. The males at the next table that had their I.D.s checked were told to leave the area, which they did.

Somehow we suspect the truth lies somewhere in between. It is, in the age of playground sitting tickets and threats of model motor boat summons, totally conceivable that the NYPD used the on-the-books rule regarding chess tables to check IDs, which revealed the warrant for Lisa.

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

By Garth Johnston in News on June 14, 2011 1:40 PM

Comments [rss]

jaycjay

Her original story was that the warrant was for some b.s. thing about not having some paperwork in order. Now she doesn't dispute that it was actually about a theft.

So, it's already established that she will lie in telling this story. Which is really no story at all. Someone with an outstanding warrant was brought in to answer for it. Happens hundred of times a day in this city. Big deal.

The fact is, you don't get arrested for the kind of violation she claims she was arrested for. Anyone who has been paying attention to "quality of life" enforcement in NYC knows that. If the police approached her because of where she was in the park (certainly plausible), she would be put through the system only for a few specific reasons: she had no ID, she had a warrant, or she was just so uncooperative that the cops decided to make it tough on her.

MEDICNYC

My guess is she was abrasive and uncooperative with officers. If the other people there were allowed to leave then it only makes sense that she was detained for that reason. Probably arrested her for failure to move on and then she popped an outstanding warrant. Next time don't get collared for petit larceny and fail to show up for court or your community service. Bottom line is she is obviously a career (non-violent) criminal based on her numerous outstanding warrants. Her credibility is zero and she belongs in the Tombs.

Guest

Her credibility is zero everywhere except Gothamist where she enjoys sainthood.

Kimberley Truelove

I know my quality of life is up for the hours when a purse snatcher is off the streets.

Guest

By the way - *SEVEN* fucking warrants? Seriously? Do you know how hard you have to try to rack up SEVEN FUCKING WARRANTS? I'm guessing someone dropped the ball with her, but it wasn't the cop that gave us an all to brief 31 hour respite from the one woman crime spree.

Guest

Upstanding citizen you guys take at their word...

ktinnyc

$136 million of settlements by the NYPD says that they are fucking up a lot.

Guest

Or it could say the Corporation Counsel is about as useful as tits on a fish. Or anti-police sentiment drives higher settlements.

But none of this addresses my original point that everyone just blindly rallied around some pile of shit junkie instead of thinking critically.

ktinnyc

Or it could be that a large number of cops have no idea what the law is and are brutal thugs.

Guest

Probably not a large number, A number, to be sure, but not a large one. You're welcome to your pre-conceived notions, though.

ktinnyc

I have $136 million reasons to believe what I do and none of them are pre-concieved.

Guest

Yes, the Corporation Counsel is in there fighting for every last cent, I bet.

ktinnyc

I was on a jury and the corporation counsel did a great job arguing that the hospital was not at fault. When you have shitty clients you tend to have shitty cases.

Guest

Wow. A whole case involving something not remotely related to what we're talking about? :ile I said, you're welcome to your biases.

ktinnyc

So the coporation counsel can do a good job protecting hospitals from making payouts but not the NYPD? like a said, shitty clients make for shitty cases.

Guest

No, I'm saying you saw one case out of thousands that are just settled out of court because no one can be bothered and yet are willing to make a judgement based on that.

A more fair metric would be the number of cases brought against the NYPD vs. the amount of officers indemnified by the vaunted Corporation Counsel. But why think about shit and be fair, right?

Gothamistriss

Even in the first article it was clear she was arrested for the warrants and not the fact she was breaking a parks law. Gothamist just loves to publish anything that will make the cops look bad.