NYPD officers arrest Black Lives Matter protesters at Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 in New York. AP Photo/YukiIwamura
The city is now suing a protestor who was seen in a viral video being thrown into an unmarked van by NYPD officers last summer.
In the lawsuit, the woman claims that she believed she was being kidnapped by plainclothes officers who didn't identify themselves.
The City of New York is named as a defendant, along with ten unidentified NYPD officers.
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In a viral video, a protester was seen being placed in an unmarked NYPD van by plainclothes officers. She is now suing to prove that her civil rights were violated.
Stickers O'Neill, a New York County Supreme Court lawsuit, claims that Stickers O'Neill was assaulted and beaten by police while she was being held without warrant. The City of New York is named as a defendant, along with ten unnamed NYPD officers.
According to the lawsuit, widespread criticism was expressed at the time about the video showing O'Neill, 18, being thrown in an unmarked van during a July 2020 antipolice brutality demonstration following George Floyd's death. Former New York Governor. Andrew Cuomo called O'Neill's arrest disturbing, frightening, and insensitive.
O'Neill claims in the lawsuit she thought she was being kidnapped, because the plainclothes officers who pulled her into the van didn't identify themselves as law-enforcement personnel.
O'Neill was allegedly thrown around by police as the van sped away. The lawsuit also claims that O'Neill was punched and elbowed while they tried to place her in handcuffs. According to the lawsuit, O'Neill was not placed in a seatbelt while the van was moving. Instead, police told her to stop acting like an animal and to put his seatbelt on.
Plaintiff cried out for help and the Individual Defendants told her to stop acting like an animal.
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O'Neill claims that she was subject to "extraordinary" emotional and psychological pain, suffering, loss and injury as a result. The suit seeks a jury trial and compensation from the city.
O'Neill claims that she was also defamed in the NYPD's statement that she was arrested pursuant a warrant when it was clear that there was no warrant for her arrest. O'Neill was being sought for five criminal mischief charges for damaging police cameras, according to authorities.
Insider requested comment from the NYPD but they did not respond immediately.
Insider has the original article.
