Honor student Brittany Rowley claims police brutality a case of mistaken identity

Brittany Rowley, 15, says that she was roughed up by NYPD cops who were not in uniform who thought she matched the description of a shoplifting suspect, according to the Daily News...

TheGrio Staff

May 24, 2012

Brittany Rowley, 15, says that she was roughed up by NYPD plain-clothed police officers who thought she matched the description of a shoplifting suspect, according to the New York Daily News. Police later admitted to having arrested the wrong person, but Rowley says she is still haunted by the experience. where she spent three hours handcuffed to a bench in the police station. “It was terrifying,” Rowley said. “It is the most horrible thing I have ever experienced.” Rowley’s father filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against the city Tuesday. The New York Daily News has the story:

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.

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