We've heard countless stories of cops overstepping their duties to teach law-abiding citizens cruel lessons about what cops can do when you piss them off. Sometimes they throw you in jail because you touched their shoulder, because you forgot to carry ID, because you dared photograph one in public or criticized stop-and-frisk. Law student Tzvi Richt claims in a new lawsuit that he was falsely arrested after asking a cop a few questions. "Who the f-k do you think you are?" officer Graham Braithwaite allegedly asked Richt after arresting him.
Richt, 22, a first-year student at Cardozo School of Law, told the Post that he was headed home in December after taking finals when he spotted officers Braithwaite and Jason Pinero honking at a man to move his car from a bus zone at Kings Highway and East 16th Street. Once the man scurried to leave, the cops pulled into the same spot and headed over to a nearby food truck to eat.
Richt approached them to ask whether they "thought what they had done was right,” the suit states. “Kicking a civilian’s car out of a bus stop so that they could park there just to get food.” Richt says he asked in a respectful manner and was not “yelling or shouting," but Braithwaite ignored him. "Plaintiff responded by asking whether he wasn’t allowed to ask a question of a police officer," the suit states. Braithwaite asked Richt for ID, Richt responded by asking whether he had the right to make that request, and boom, he was in handcuffs.
When Richt asked more questions at the station, cops told him "it’s none of your f—-g business." He was eventually charged with two disorderly conduct citations, both of which were dropped when Braithwaite didn't show up in court. Richt now fears that his false arrest will negatively affect his chances of passing the Bar.
