A woman from Mariners Harbor filed a lawsuit against the city and four police officers. She claims that these police officers battered her during an arrest in her home about 15 months ago. The woman alleges that she told the police officers prior to the battery that she was carrying a child. According to the woman, this incident caused her to miscarry and lose her child.
The complaint says that the incident occurred at about 1:45 p.m. Emelda Fitzroy alleges in the suit filed in a Brooklyn federal court that the police officers struck her repeatedly in the stomach. She also claims that the police officers stepped on her and threw her to the floor of her home. The police officers then approached Fitzroy, forcibly grabbed her, and arrested her without offering any legal justification.
In the complaint, Fitzroy claims that the injuries she sustained at the hands of the cops led to the miscarriage. In the complaint, she does not mention how many months pregnant she was. On November 3, 2014, she was released after 26 hours of being incarcerated.
In the lawsuit, Fitzroy does not note why the police officers went to her home. However, the suit does note that she was arrested on charges of misdemeanor assault, resisting arrest, harassment, and obstructing governmental administration. Fitzroy hired a lawyer and went to court several times to fight these charges. These charges against Fitzroy were dropped last week, according to the civil complaint.
Prosecutors have since confirmed that the charges against Fitzroy were dropped. However, they refused to make any further comments until the sealing of the court file. A spokesman from the city’s law Department also refused to comment on the suit until the end of the case. Fitzroy’s lawyer did not return any phone calls seeking comments on the suit. A spokeswoman from the NYPD also declined to comment due to the pending status of the suit.
In the suit, Fitzroy alleges that she was a victim of false arrest, deprivation of civil rights, unlawful search and seizure, excessive use of force, and assault and battery. She alleges that she has suffered deep and psychological pain as a result of losing her child. Fitzroy hopes to receive monetary damages.
