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NYPD Cop Allegedly Pepper-Sprayed Little Kids
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 2, 2013
Modified Apr 2, 2013
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 2, 2013
Modified Apr 2, 2013
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A Bronx woman is suing the NYPD for pepper spraying her and her children in a Brooklyn subway station last summer. The lawsuit, filed at the end of last month, accuses three NYPD officers of excessive force when they "needlessly and without warning pepper-sprayed a mother, father, and their three small children." The officers had stopped the family near the L platform at Atlantic Avenue because they suspected Marilyn Taylor of evading the fare when she used the service entry with her baby stroller. According to the lawsuit:
During this stop, the aggressive language and demeanor of the officers caused the Minor Children to become scared and upset. Ms. Taylor responded to her four-year-old daughter's question as to whether she was going to be okay by leaning over to tell her daughter that, "everything is going to be okay."
At this point, Officer Suranjit Dey unloaded pepper-spray into Ms. Taylor's face. The spray caused Ms. Taylor to reel backwards, nearly falling off the platform, and to fall to her knees, blinded and in pain.
The pepper spray struck all three children—ages four, two, and five months—causing them to "scream and cry in fear and pain," the lawsuit alleges. The two-year-old started vomiting from the pepper spray, which also struck Taylor's husband Dehaven McClain. Meanwhile, Taylor was handcuffed and dragged out of the station—the lawsuit alleges that she was pushed down the stairs on the way out, injuring her wrists and lower back.
When she appeared before a judge, Taylor agreed to an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal." But the lawsuit alleges that NYPD officers continued to harass them whenever they tried to use the Atlantic Avenue station, and they were forced to avoid the stop.
According to Taylor, her children were severely traumatized by the incident, with her four-year-old daughter crying herself to sleep for weeks. And both Taylor and her husband claim they continue to suffer from ongoing eye injuries requiring medical treatment.
The lawsuit, which you may peruse in full below, was filed by Rankin & Taylor and seeks unspecified damages. An attorney for the city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taylor, M - 2013.03.29 Complaint (Stamped)
Tagged
atlantic avenue
brooklyn
kids
l train
pepper spray
original
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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