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NYPD officer sues city, claiming years of sexual abuse by union rep
By
Samantha Max
Published Nov 22, 2023
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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Nov 22, 2023
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A female NYPD officer is suing the city and her police union representative in federal court, claiming he sexually abused and stalked her — and that the department refused to protect her and even retaliated against her after she spoke out.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon, Officer Meaghan Ciotti, 39, said Officer Jamie Angelastro demanded sexual favors from her, threatened her with his gun, strangled her and violently raped her. Ciotti said she has suffered from migraines, neck pain, panic attacks and crippling fear because of the alleged abuse.
The suit comes a day before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act, a state law that provides an extra year for people to file sexual assault lawsuits past the statute of limitations, in civil court.
Spokespeople for the NYPD and the city’s law department declined to comment on pending litigation.
The Police Benevolent Association, Ciotti and Angelastro’s union, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Angelastro could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ciotti, who joined the department in 2012, said the years of abuse began in 2016, after her then-boyfriend called for medical help when she was having an anxiety attack. Ciotti said she was experiencing postpartum depression at the time, and according to her lawsuit, the department’s psychology unit accused her of abusing alcohol and wanted to send her to inpatient rehabilitation.
Ciotti said she was terrified to leave her 8-month-old daughter, and met with Angelastro, her union representative, hoping he could help her. Instead, her lawsuit claims, Angelastro boasted that he knew how to get out of trouble — including for allegations of rape and domestic abuse against him in the past. He said he could use those skills to help her too, according to the lawsuit.
After the meeting, Ciotti said, she was even more afraid but felt like she needed to have a good relationship with Angelastro so she could avoid punishment.
The meeting sparked what Ciotti described as years of incessant calls and text messages, unwanted sexual contact and stalking. She said Angelastro repeatedly told her that her job was in jeopardy and he could take care of her problems.
“I’ll help you out if you help me out,” she said Angelastro told her at the time.
Ciotti said she ultimately was mandated to spend a month in rehab, and when she returned, she tried to ignore Angelastro but he kept showing up — at a restaurant, the Airbnb where she stayed during a police convention, and her home. She said she was afraid of what would happen if she refused his advances.
“She believed she had no alternative, especially in light of his continuing threats and promises,” her lawsuit states.
According to Ciotti, Angelastro raped her one night when she was disoriented after having a few drinks while on a new dose of antidepressants. On another occasion, she said, Angelastro pointed a gun at her, fired two shots into the air, raped her, threatened to kill her and then strangled her until she nearly lost consciousness — causing her near-constant neck pain and frequent headaches afterward.
The lawsuit outlines various times over the years when Ciotti says she alerted others about Angelastro’s behavior, hoping for help that never came. She said she told her immediate supervisor and spoke with the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, which investigates allegations of police misconduct, as well as a doctor in the department’s psychology unit.
But time and again, Ciotti said, the department failed to take serious action against Angelastro, who is still on active duty in the Queens court section, according to department records. She said she faced retribution for reporting him, including being reassigned to units where officers are often placed when they’re in trouble, and being forced to work the night shift.
After Angelastro accused her of being mentally unstable, Ciotti said, a department psychologist blamed her for the abuse and told her she should block his phone number. She saida high-ranking union member also pressured her to drop an order of protection against Angelastro.
The lawsuit claims the police union and Internal Affairs Bureau protected Angelastro from discipline and allowed the NYPD to retaliate against Ciotti, instead of taking her complaints seriously.
Ciotti said she is afraid Angelastro, who she noted owns multiple firearms, will attack her and her daughter. But her attorney, Susan Crumiller, said Ciotti wanted to bring a lawsuit under the Adult Survivors Act despite those fears to hold him and the NYPD accountable.
“NYPD has a violent rapist named Jamie Angelastro freely roaming its halls,” Crumiller said in a statement. “Instead of taking Ms. Ciotti seriously when she reported his abuse, NYPD blamed her while doing everything in its power to protect him.”
Tagged
civil lawsuit
police benevolent association
new york city
public safety
nypd
police
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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