The NYPD is once again under fire for a new viral video showing officers dragging a naked grandmother from her Brooklyn apartment last month, reports the New York Daily News.
Denise Stewart, 48, was in her Brownsville apartment on July 13 when police arrived at the residence in response to a domestic disturbance in the building. The woman reportedly cracked the door wearing only a towel wrapped around her body and underpants when she was pulled into the hallway by cops.
The video shows officers yanking her out of the apartment and forcing her to the ground as she’s handcuffed. Her family and neighbors can be heard yelling in the footage as Stewart, who has severe asthma, screams out for oxygen.
Stewart was left bare-breasted in the hallway for more than two minutes before a female cop brought a towel to cover her exposed body. The woman spoke with the Daily News about the incident.
“It’s disgusting and embarrassing. I’ve been married 16 years. It took my husband 10 years to see my nakedness,” she said. “I didn’t do nothing wrong.”
The NYPD said they got a 911 call to the address, but didn’t have an apartment number. They knocked at Stewart’s door when they heard shouting, but she told them they had the wrong place and tried to shut the door. The report continues:
“Cops said Stewart’s 12-year-old daughter has “visible injuries” and told them her mother and older sister beat her with a belt. The report continues:
Cops removed the 12-year-old from the apartment and say she refused to get into the police car and kicked the door. A police spokesman said the child kicked out one of the police van’s windows, with the broken glass cutting the chin of one of the cops. The cops were treated at local hospitals and released.
Denise Stewart was charged with assaulting a police officer, and — along with her oldest daughter, Diamond Stewart, 20, — resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child and criminal possession of a weapon.
Stewart’s son Kirkland Stewart, 24, was charged with resisting arrest. The 12-year-old was charged with assaulting a police officer, criminal mischief and criminal possession of a weapon.
Diamond Stewart’s 4-year-old son was also pepper sprayed, the family said.”
Amy Rameau, Stewart’s lawyer, said she was told by a Legal Aid attorney also assigned to the case that the 911 call came from a different apartment on an upper floor and cops went to Stewart’s door by mistake. She also clarified that Stewart’s daughter suffered no injuries as claimed in the complaint.
Photo courtesy of Keith Levit Photograpy/Getty Images
“They manhandled [Stewart] and behaved in a deplorable manner,” Rameau said. “She feels completely mortified. This is about human dignity.”
A police spokesman said the incident is currently under investigation by Internal Affairs.