Lucille Gager, 66, has filed a $10 million lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, New York against the 24th Precinct New York police station. The lawsuit claims that four police officers forcefully threw her to the ground, assaulted, falsely arrested, wrongfully imprisoned her and violated her civil rights.
The incident occurred when Gager walked to the police station after noticing that the police had ticketed her car. While at the station, Gager claims that the police refused to hear her complaint. One officer grabbed her by the shoulder and told her to get out of the station. Gager then commented, “What are you trying to do, shoot me in the back like they did that boy?” Police had shot sixteen year-old Kevin Cedeno in the back while he was running up Amsterdam Avenue with a machete. Gager alleges that after making the remark, four police officers forced her to the ground, one placed his knee in her back and another handcuffed her. She was then given tickets for disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing. After being released, she went to a hospital and was treated for bruises and blunt trauma. The charges against her were subsequently dropped. Her lawyer, Joel Berger, advised her to file suit instead of a complaint with the police department because he said he believes the police department and Civilian Complaint Review Board “do not adequately investigate these matters.”
