A notice of claim states that the girl’s mother, Elba Pope, will claim damages for “mental distress and psychological / emotional distress and trauma” and “substantial physical injury and pain,” as well as coverage for any necessary medical and mental treatment in the future. health care.
Pope’s daughter left the house distressed because “she was upset that her mother and stepfather were arguing,” the notice, which CNN obtained from the family’s lawyer Lorenzo Napolitano, says.
The Pope explicitly accused officers of “absurd, reckless and malicious” conduct and claims “negligence, violation of state and federal constitutional rights, infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, excessive force, false arrest and (and) false imprisonment.” “. although he did not limit the scope of the claim to these allegations, the notice says.
Before a person files a lawsuit for damages against a city, New York law requires the plaintiff to prepare and notify the nature of the lawsuit.
“No nine-year-old child should be handcuffed. No nine-year-old should be sprayed. No one should be deprived of humanity because of a badge. No one should be treated person like that, “Napolitano said in a statement. “Reform is needed. Reform can come, but only if we are willing to hear this little one screaming for the protection she did not receive from Rochester police.”
One officer involved has been suspended and two were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to a statement Tuesday from Rochester Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan. Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren condemned the incident on Monday and described it as “just horrible”.
CNN has contacted the Rochester Police Department and the mayor to comment on the complaint notice.
Call family problems
Officers responded to what police called “family problems” and the ensuing encounter has been harshly criticized by municipal and state officials. The incident has sparked protests in the community.
Two videos from the body camera of the Jan. 29 meeting show officers holding the minor, handcuffing her and trying to get her into the back of a police vehicle as she cries and asks her father several times.
At one point, an officer said, “You’re acting like a child.”
“I’m a kid!” the girl answers.
An officer is seen talking to the girl later in the video and finally says, “This is your last chance, otherwise the pepper spray will go through your eyeballs.” About a minute later, another agent can be heard saying, “Just spray it at this point.” The female officer is seen shaking a can that looks like pepper spray and the boy keeps screaming.
The girl was taken to Rochester General Hospital and later released, according to police.
At a press conference Sunday, Herriott-Sullivan said the girl’s treatment was not acceptable.
“I won’t stay here and tell you that for a nine-year-old you have to sprinkle pepper, it’s okay. It’s not like that,” he said. “I don’t see it as who we are as a department and we will do the work we have to do to ensure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen.”
Warren said the girl reminded him of his little daughter.
On Monday, Sen. Samra Brouk of New York State and Assembly Demond Meeks, both Democrats, introduced legislation that would ban the police use of chemical agents against minors in the state, according to a statement.
“The distressing experience a nine-year-old girl lived in our community (including the possibility of being handcuffed and smoking pepper) should never happen to another child,” Brouk said in a statement. “This legislation will ensure that when a child is in crisis, they will never again suffer this violence in the form of pepper spray or other chemical irritants.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James tweeted Monday that her office is also investigating the incident. He described the incident as “deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable”.
Police have not identified either the officers involved in the incident or the child.
CNN has not been able to verify with the authorities or relatives the career of the 9-year-old boy.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Mirna Alsharif, Laura James, Eric Levenson, Saffeya Ahmed, Sarah Jorgensen, Jessica Prater, Kristina Sgueglia, and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.