A Republican candidate for Congress, who spent 25 years in the NYPD and has campaigned on being the "law and order" candidate, was twice sued over wrongful arrests — including one instance in which she handcuffed an infant.
That's according to a Wednesday report from City and State New York, which reported that Alison Esposito, who is running against Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), was sued in 2005 and again in 2017 in cases that cost New York City taxpayers $120,000.
In 2005, she was sued by three Black women who said they were wrongfully arrested on suspicion of shoplifting.
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In that case, the three women were shopping at H&M during a trip to Manhattan with their Philadelphia church group, the complaint said. Esposito's rationale for the arrest is that she saw money sticking out of a purse. She claimed the money looked "fake."
When the women left the store they were swarmed by officers.
"The city ultimately settled the case for $95,000," said the report.
In 2017, Esposito was sued again for handcuffing, detaining, and frisking an infant. The lawsuit was for assault, and the mother was ultimately given $25,000 in a settlement.
That incident happened in 2016, when Esposito and a colleague performed an illegal "stop and frisk." The policy, which a federal judge eliminated in 2013, allowed police to stop anyone they believed looked suspicious and frisk them.
In this case, Esposito and the officer entered an apartment building and “did unlawfully stop, assault, frisk, handcuff, detain, arrest and imprison” an infant named Rebecca Cuevas, according to the complaint later filed by the girl's mother.
According to the report, "Esposito responded to the complaint by denying the allegations, arguing that 'plaintiffs’ culpable conduct caused or contributed, in whole or in part, to their injuries or damages."
Still, the lawsuit was settled by the city.
New York City officials didn't respond to questions, but Esposito's campaign called it fake news.
“When criminals legally and lawfully are brought to justice, they often seek to scapegoat law enforcement via the courts and the city of New York is frequently forced to settle frivolous and baseless lawsuits in order to avoid costly litigation,” spokesperson Ben Weiner told City & State.
