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Retired Cop Suing City Over Fight in Police Station
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 14, 2010
Modified Apr 14, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 14, 2010
Modified Apr 14, 2010
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A retired NYPD officer and his wife are suing the city in federal court, alleging that their civil rights were violated after an ugly altercation in a Harlem police station landed them in jail. As you may recall, retired officer Merault Almonor is facing felony assault charges for allegedly punching a female cop so hard in the face that she's suffering partial paralysis. The fight broke out when Almonor and his wife, Wilma Dore-Almonor, went to the station house on March 20th to pick up their 13-year-old son, Devin, who had been arrested after a stop-and-frisk on West 141st Street. Naturally, the Almonors and the police have wildly differing accounts of what went down.
Police say the fracas started after Almonor's wife allegedly burst in screaming, "Get those f - - -ing cuffs off my son!" Officials claim she was arrested because she refused to calm down, and in the midst of a scuffle her husband punched a female cop in the face, sending her to the floor. They were both arrested (Dore-Almonor spent 36 hours in jail), and Almonor was released that night with a charge of obstruction of governmental administration. But when it became clear that the female officer's face was partially paralyzed from the blow, the charges were elevated to felonies.
The Almonors maintain that their son was the victim of an illegal stop and frisk, and that they were "disrespected" at the station house. According to their lawyers, the charges against them are part of an effort to cover up and justify their son’s arrest. At a press conference to announce the lawsuit yesterday, Noel Leader, a co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, said he thought it was fishy that Almonor was only later charged with a felony, telling the Times, "We know as law enforcement officers, we know if he would have assaulted the police officer he would have been arrested on the spot."
Tagged
civil rights
cop fight
harlem
lawsuit
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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