Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Teen Disillusioned With Cops After Racially Charged Incident
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 18, 2011
Modified Jun 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 18, 2011
Modified Jun 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Last spring, a retired NYPD officer was acquitted of felony assault charges for allegedly punching a female police officer as he and his wife were picking up their 13-year-old son. The teen, Devin Almonor, was arrested after a stop-and-frisk, and his parents argued he was the victim of racial profiling. Now, the family has filed a lawsuit against the NYPD, and the teen has spoken out about the incident: "It was surreal. I thought cops were out here to protect us. But they racially profile. They are prejudiced. I don't know what to believe anymore."
Devin, now a freshman at All Hallows Catholic school in the Bronx, said he was on his way home when he was stopped by plainclothes cops on W. 141st Street. Police said he was part of a rowdy group of kids that prompted six 911 calls, and said he was arrested after he reached toward his waistband as if he had a gun—police later acknowledged he didn't have any weapons. Despite not being charged with any crime, Devin was handcuffed and held at the 30th precinct for six hours. Even worse, he alleges in the lawsuit that police officers teased him for crying, saying he was crying like a girl.
While he was sitting in a juvenile holding room, Devin's father Merault Almonor, who retired from the NYPD in 2003, ended up in a fist fight with officers, while his mother was also arrested. In their lawsuit, which names six individual cops, they argue that Devin's run-in with cops was just another example of racially motivated policing under the highly criticized stop-and-frisk program. Merault Almonor feels betrayed by the whole experience: "I can't believe my department did this to me. We are a family of cops...I used to look up to cops. After this, I lost respect for the department."
Tagged
cops
devin almonor
harlem
lawsuit
merault almonor
nypd
stop and frisk
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:07 p.m. ET
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
Construction crews will jack up sagging floors where two key structural columns bent in July.
By
David Brand
News
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
Construction crews will jack up sagging floors where two key structural columns bent in July.
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Queens mother charged with murder in death of 5-year-old daughter, NYPD says
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .