BABY-GRAB MOM SUES
Officers took kid at city-aid site
The mother whose 1-yearold son was ripped from her arms in an ugly confrontation in a Brooklyn benefits office filed a lawsuit Wednesday, calling on the city to take steps to reform “a culture of violence and fear” for people receiving public assistance.
Jazmine Headley’s traumatic confrontation on Dec. 7 with Human Resources Administration peace officers and NYPD cops was captured in a video that went viral and prompted apologies from Mayor de Blasio and other prominent officials.
“My son and I were unreasonably assaulted by untrained and undertrained HRA security officers and police officers,” Headley, 24, said Wednesday. “I am taking action so this experience does not fester and infect our lives, work, relationships, and health. I look forward to re-directing the hurt and anger we feel into more positive outlets for change.”
The lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court recounts the awful ordeal — and its ongoing consequences.
“Ms. Headley had been humiliated, assaulted, physically injured, threatened with a taser, brutally separated from her son, handcuffed, arrested, and jailed,” the suit reads.
“What unleashed this torrent of violence and abuse against a young mother and her son? Ms. Headley had dared to sit on the floor of the crowded HRA waiting room next to her son’s stroller, her back against a wall. She was tired after waiting for almost three hours to see a caseworker.”
She spent two days at Rikers Island on charges of obstruction, resisting arrest, endangered the welfare of a child, and trespassing. Those were the first days she’d even been apart from her son, the suit notes. The charges were later dismissed.
Her son “displayed changed behaviors after the events, including a diminished appetite, separation anxiety, and difficulty sleeping, and he became more withdrawn,” the suit says.
“(The child) endured a formative incident of trauma. He will forever confront increased long-term health and life as a result.”
Headley said she plans to assist other HRA clients who have experienced abuse.
“While we cannot comment on pending litigation, last year’s incident involving Ms. Headley painfully illustrated that more has to be done to improve the client experience in our centers,” Department of Social Services spokesman Isaac consequences McGinn said. “That’s why we’ve implemented and continue to implement systematic changes, including retraining all security staff with an emphasis on deescalation techniques, requiring implicit bias training for all DSS staff, and putting new response protocols in place with the NYPD, to prevent incidents like this one from happening again.”
Headley seeks unspecified damages for a dozen claims, including assault and malicious prosecution.
“Ms. Headley refused to be demeaned by HRA officers just because she needed help,” lawyer Katie Rosenfeld said. “What followed was a shameful display of violence and punishment. But this incident caught the attention of millions because many of us recognized ourselves in Ms. Headley.”