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Video: Asthmatic Grandmother Dragged Out Of Apartment Naked By Cops
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 2, 2014
Modified Aug 2, 2014
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 2, 2014
Modified Aug 2, 2014
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An asthmatic grandmother who has been accused of assaulting one of her children was dragged out of her apartment by cops while naked earlier this month. The News has video of the incident, showing 48-year-old grandmother Denise Stewart being yanked naked out of her Brownsville apartment on July 13th, after cops responded to a domestic disturbance call. You can hear the woman calling for oxygen (amidst a LOT of screaming) as she stood naked in her hallway for over two minutes, surrounded by around a dozen (mostly male) cops.
Stewart fainted at one point during the incident. "It’s disgusting and embarrassing. I’ve been married 16 years. It took my husband 10 years to see my nakedness,” she told the News this week. "I didn’t do nothing wrong." Cops said they were called to the building over a disturbance, but not given an apartment number; they heard shouting from Stewart's apartment, and say that her 12-year-old daughter had "visible injuries" to her face. The 12-year-old allegedly told officers her mother and older sister had beaten her with a belt.
Stewart was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child and criminal possession of a weapon. Stewart's 20-year-old eldest daughter, Diamond, was charged with resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child and criminal possession of a weapon. Stewart's 24-year-old son Kirkland was charged with resisting arrest; the 12-year-old was also charged with assaulting a police officer, criminal mischief and criminal possession of a weapon.
The family claims that Diamond Stewart's 4-year-old son was pepper sprayed by cops in the ensuing incident. The family's lawyer, Amy Rameau, said the disturbance call came from a different apartment on an upper floor, and cops went to the wrong apartment. She added that the city's Administration for Children's Services was called to investigate but didn't find any evidence of neglect, nor injuries to the 12-year-old as cops claimed. "They manhandled (Stewart) and behaved in a deplorable manner,” Rameau told the News. "She feels completely mortified. This is about human dignity."
The incident happened a few days before cops placed asthmatic Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold in Tompkinsville.
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asthma
brooklyn
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police
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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