A Brooklyn man claiming New York police put him in a chokehold has settled a lawsuit against the city for $75,000.
The settlement was approved by a federal judge last week, and Nick Paolucci, New York City Law Department spokesperson, said that “based on an evaluation of the case, it was determined that the settlement was in the best interests of the city,” Associated Press reported.
Attorney Jeffrey Rothman said the settlement for his client was “another example of a black man choked and beaten down into the ground.”
On Feb. 9, 2013, Kevin Dennis-Palmer Sr., 28, said he was approached by Sgt. Burt Antoine and Officer Ryan Monteleone while he was parallel parking near his home in Brownsville.
The lawsuit states that Dennis-Palmer was ordered out of his car, but struggled to do so due to his large frame. Officers then attempted to pull him out of the window by his collar, pepper sprayed him and slammed him onto the street when he got out of the car with his hands in the air, according to the suit. It further states that one of the officers who arrived at the scene lifted him up by his neck and choked him while other officers hit his head and back, Associated Press reports.
“I’m yelling, ‘I can’t breathe – you’re choking me!” Dennis-Palmer told the New York Daily News.
He alleges his car was stopped and that charges were brought because his windows were too dark, according to the lawsuit. He was taken to the 75th Precinct stationhouse for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, the Daily News reported.
Rothman said charges were eventually dropped, and his client was treated for cuts to his wrist and head, and for a swollen eye.
Dennis-Palmer’s suit was filed in May, prior to the Eric Garner incident last summer, who died in a chokehold placed by an NYPD officer. Ultimately, a grand jury decided not to indict any officers, which sparked nationwide protests.
“It makes you realize how truly blessed you are to get out of that situation,” Dennis-Palmer said of the Garner case.
Earlier this month, the NYPD inspector general issued a report – commissioned in light of Garner’s death – that found 10 recent cases involving chokeholds where officers received little to no discipline from their superiors, the Daily News reported.
Another report in September revealed that in the last five and a half years, there were more than 1,100 cases of chokehold allegations. Other report findings indicated that 25 percent of officers were shown to have a history of 10 or more complaints.
(With reports from Associated Press, New York Daily News and RT)
