A Brooklyn couple is suing the city after a stop by a police officer escalated into a strip search, all because they brought their 10-pound Shih Tzu onto the subway in an unapproved bag.
Daniel Riffas and Khadijah McQueen-Riffas have sued the city after a May 2nd stop by a police officer in Crown Heights, who told them that they couldn't bring their beloved dog, Papi, on the train with them. Officer Michelle Conway allegedly told the couple that, "You can't go on the train with this dog. That's not an official bag."
Simple enough, except like many things involving the NYPD, the situation quickly escalated. After Daniel Riffas began leaving the station to bring the Shih Tzu home, his wife told the Daily News that she mumbled to the officer, "I can't believe this is happening; why do you have to be so mean?"
Other commuters began heckling the cop, and soon Conway radioed for backup, eventually ending with Daniel Riffas being given a strip-search and sent to Central Booking for the night on a charge of disorderly conduct. That charge was dropped the next day, while a summons his wife received was also dropped.
"I felt like I was being raped by the officers," Riffas told the News. "I said, 'This is crazy, I didn't do anything.'"
This isn't the first time a stop by a police officer over a dog on the subway has escalated into a chaotic scene: in 2009, a Brooklyn woman, Chrissie Brodigan, was issued a ticket for carrying her dog on the subway. The scene escalated into allegations of racism by the illustrious New York Post, resulting in the firing of Brodigan from her job. Of course, almost all of the charges against Brodigan were dropped.
Dogs of New York, know your rights! (Basically, you have to be in a carrier when you take the subway.)
