Wall Street law partner sues New York police, says he was arrested for talking to Occupy protesters
A partner of a well-known law firm thought he had a constitutional right to talk with Occupy Wall Street anniversary protesters on his way to an appointment last September.
But New York City police officers disagreed, according to partner Stephen Kass of Carter Ledyard & Milburn.
Taken to a police station in handcuffs and given a disorderly conduct summons, he filed a civil rights suit (PDF) against the police department earlier this month in federal court in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) reports.
As Kass tells the story, he was simply talking with a protester holding a “Tax the Rich” sign when police told him to move on. Since he wasn’t blocking the sidewalk, he objected, saying that he is a citizen and wanted to hear what the protesters were saying. In short order, he was in handcuffs and being driven to the police station, even though he explained to the officers that he was a lawyer, worked two blocks away and needed to get to an appointment in suburban White Plains.
The charge against him was dismissed in January when the police officers failed to appear in court. Meanwhile, Kass says in the suit, he was not only handcuffed but patted down and had his bag searched, plus had to come to court repeatedly.
The Law Blog says a police official maintains that Kass was “issued a summons in lieu of arrest” because he “he became irate and stated ‘No, I am not moving’” after he was asked several times by police to move on from the Zuccotti Park protest.
His lawyer, Andrew Celli of Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff + Abady, told Newsweek that such cases occur in New York “with depressing regularity,” adding: “It seems that in New York, sometimes police don’t understand that sidewalks and public spaces are for more than transportation, but are places where people engage.”
Celli said he and Kass hope the lawsuit will encourage police to take a different approach in the future.
The suit asserts claims for false arrest and/or false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault and battery. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and unspecified injunctive relief.
The city law department is reviewing the complaint.
