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Pregnant Teen Tased By Cops Plans To Sue The City For $5.5 Million
By
Nathan Tempey
Published Feb 23, 2017
Modified Apr 2, 2018
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By
Nathan Tempey
Published Feb 23, 2017
Modified Apr 2, 2018
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The pregnant teenager who an NYPD officer shocked with a stun gun in a Wakefield apartment building earlier this month is planning to sue the city.
Cellphone video of the February 10th encounter shows a hallway crowded with police officers, who are gathered around an agitated Dailene Rosario, 17. "Get off me! Get off! I'm pregnant!" Rosario yells as a man films from an apartment doorway. In the clip, the videographer and others repeat that Rosario is pregnant as she is shocked. One officer blocks the door and repeatedly demands that the man filming "Back up!" as another officer shines a light into the camera, apparently to obscure the footage.
"It is clear from the video that there was no justification whatsoever for the use of the taser against a 17-year old girl visibly pregnant, who was not a threat to the numerous police officers present," said lawyer Scott Rynecki in a press release. It's not clear from photos just how visibly pregnant Rosario is. She was 14 weeks pregnant at the time.
In a draft notice of the claim obtained by the Daily News, Rosario's lawyers outline their planned lawsuit seeking $5.5 million, saying that the unidentified sergeant who tased the teen was standing just two feet away at the time. The NYPD Patrol Guide states that officers should only use stun guns against people who are actively resisting or being aggressive, or to prevent a person from injuring herself or others. Officers are supposed to warn subjects before stunning them, and are supposed to "when possible" avoid stunning children, elderly people, and obviously pregnant women.
"I was already handcuffed when they tased me," Rosario told the News. "It was unnecessary."
Rynecki's law firm has not yet finalized the notice of claim, but is holding a press conference about it on Thursday afternoon.
Rosario told the News that the encounter with police occurred after her brothers got into a fight in the hall over a video game and officers tried to follow them into their apartment without a warrant. Rosario said that a doctor assured her that her unborn child was unharmed by the shocks. The NYPD has opened an internal investigation into the incident.
The only officer involved who has been named so far is Officer Taralena Gerrato, who worked as an FDNY emergency medical specialist into 2015, according to payroll records. In a criminal complaint, Gerrato swore that Rosario was with 15 others watching the fight and, when police arrived, shouted, "Why don't we all go to jail?" She stated further that Rosario went into an apartment, came out, walked towards the stairs, then got in a physical altercation with an unidentified woman or girl who came out of another apartment. Approached by police, Rosario allegedly yelled, "I don't wanna talk to you. I just wanna leave," then allegedly pushed Gerrato into a doorframe and threw herself to the ground, flailed her arms, and sat on her hands as officers tried to cuff her.
Police charged her with harassment, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
Tasers are marketed as nonlethal weapons to be used as an alternative to guns, but they have regularly led to deaths, even as police departments around the country have embraced their use. As of last summer, the NYPD had tripled its supply of the devices to 1,710 and trained nearly a third of the police force in using them.
Tagged
lawsuit
nypd
police brutality
police misconduct
pregnant
sanford rubenstein
scott rynecki
stun gun
taser
teen pregnancy
wakefield
Nathan Tempey
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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