Subway Rider Sues NYPD Over Pepper-Spray Dousing
Rider was stopped as she scrambled down the staircase designated "up"
Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 | Updated 9:49 AM EDT
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Commuters pass through Grand Central Terminal during the morning rush hour. Stairs and escalators get notoriously crowded.
A woman is suing a New York City police officer for overreacting when he doused her in the face with pepper-spray and arrested her for running the wrong way down a subway staircase.
Naeema Screven filed a lawsuit in Brookyn Federal Court describing how she was stopped by the officer as she scrambled to catch her train by descending the side of the staircase that was designated "up." The "down" side was crowded.
She tells the Daily News that if she did something wrong the officer could have warned her.
Police spokesman Paul Browne says the officer used pepper spray because Screven "started swinging her arms, preventing the officer from handcuffing her."
Screven's attorney says the officer was "absolutely wrong" to use that kind of force on his client. They maintain it was clear she was only in a hurry to catch her train.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
