Woman sues NYPD for repeatedly trying to arrest her dead husband

REPORT - After years of frustration, a Brooklyn woman has settled a lawsuit with New York City for $10,000.

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

After years of frustration, a Brooklyn woman has settled a lawsuit with New York City for $10,000.

Karen Fennell says NYPD officers repeatedly came to her Bushwhack home looking to arrest her husband James Jordan Sr., despite the fact that he died in 2006.

Fennell told the New York Post she was so fed up with the harassment — which included ransacking her home — that she decided to tape her husband’s death certificate on her front door.

Jordan Sr., died from diabetes at age 46 and was last arrested in 1996 for turnstile-jumping. Fennell and her son claim they repeatedly told the officers he had passed, even as they flipped over the furniture in the house looking for him.

However, law enforcement continued to show up to the apartment — four times in 2014 alone.

“I can’t hide anyone in my apartment. It’s not big enough for that. But they keep coming and insisting that he’s in my house.”

The widow was also confused as to why authorities were so aggressively pursuing a petty offense.

“He was a hardworking man, and he took care of eight kids,” she said. “It isn’t right for them to be coming after him like this. There’s no reason for it.”

The city explained that Fennell was visited by different sets of officers each time they came looking for Jordan and therefore weren’t aware he was dead.

Fennell’s attorney, Ugochukwu Uzoh, told The Post her client accepted the modest settlement to avoid a stressful trial.

“She just did not want to go through a trial,” Uzoh said. “She wanted to resolve the case and move on so she accepted their offer.”

A spokesman for the Law Department said the settlement was in the best interest of the city.

 

 

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