A black teen honor student at an all-girl Catholic high
school claims she was roughed up by plainclothes NYPD cops who thought she
matched the description of a shoplifting suspect, the Daily News has learned.
Police later realized Brittany Rowley didn’t commit the
crime — but she is still haunted by the nightmare she experienced on a Park
Slope street and the three hours spent handcuffed to a bench in a police
stationhouse.
“It was terrifying,” Rowley, 15, said in an exclusive
interview. “It is the most horrible thing I have ever experienced.”
Her father said hes outraged by the incident and on
Tuesday filed notice of a $5.5 million lawsuit against the city and Sgt.
Jonathan Catanzaro and Officer Stephen Nakao of the 78th Precinct. The court
papers allege false arrest and excessive force, including that the sergeant
slammed Rowley to the pavement and flung his keys at her.
“I feel my daughter was racially profiled,” Delmus Rowley
said.
“They had no proof, just a description of a black young
lady with braids,” he added. “It wasn’t necessary to tackle a 15-year-old girl.
It was excessive.”
There is no dispute that two black teen girls shoplifted
shorts and jeans from Rivet, a clothing store on Seventh Ave., last Friday
around 3:30 p.m. A description of the suspects was broadcast by police at 3:44
p.m. — two female black teens, dark hair, one had a ponytail, police said.
Catanzaro and Nakao were patrolling in an umarked car
when they spotted Rowley and a friend walking on Prospect Park West. Rowley had
braided hair extensions tied together.
Rowley, a freshman at St. Saviour High School, and her
friend were going to the library when she noticed a vehicle trailing them.
The accounts diverge at this point. Rowley said the car
suddenly reversed and a male yelled, “Get them!” The cops claim they said,
“Excuse me ladies,” with their badges out.
Rowley and her friend ran. “I thought we were being
abducted,” Rowley said.
Catanzaro tackled Rowley and threw her to the ground. He
threw his keys, she said, hitting her leg. She recalled him saying, “Why did
you f------ run? I should punch you.”
She claims Catanzaro yanked her up, whipsawing her neck.
She says police also snapped on cuffs, causing bruises. Her friend returned and
was collared too.
An NYPD official insists the incident was good police
work, noting that Catanzaro obtained surveillance tape from the clothing
boutique that exonerated Rowley, even after the store manager identified her as
the suspect.
“But for him viewing the videotape, the young lady would
still be in custody,” said Inspector Kim Royster, an NYPD spokeswoman.
The Rowleys’ lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said the arrest
shows the growing concern civil rights advocates have with the NYPD’s
crimefighting tactics.
“It is not a surprise that parents fear more that their
children will suffer violence at the hands of the police than from common
criminals,” Rubenstein said.