Press Release: Woman Falsely Arrested and Committed to a Mental Facility by the NYPD and Harlem Hospital Staff After Telling Them She Was a Banker and Was Followed on Twitter by the President
The police abuse attorneys of The Law Offices of Michael S Lamonsoff have recently filed suit against the City of New York and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) on behalf of a client who was wrongfully arrested and committed to a mental health facility for telling the truth.
Kamilah Brock mistakenly approached police at the wrong precinct, PSA 6, to find the whereabouts of her BMW, which had been impounded the day before. Police at the precinct quickly grew skeptical of her and treated her with mistrust. Seeing their skepticism, Ms. Brock explained to police that she was a banker and an entertainer who tweeted with the president. She believed this might help them believe her and that request was legitimate.
Why Was Brock Arrested In The First Place?
In response for Brock’s claims, which police found outrageous, police detained Brock in handcuffs and forcibly moved her to the nearby Harlem Hospital, where she was forcibly sedated and detained for 8 days on a cocktail of drugs against her will.
Kamilah Brock, who works as a banker in Astoria and performs an entertainer, indeed has exchanged tweets with President Obama.
The suit is seeking damages and compensation for wrongful treatment and misconduct on the part of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the staff at Harlem Hospital.
On September 12, 2014, the NYPD stopped Kamilah Brock in her BMW 325Ci in Harlem for reasons that remain unclear. Though she exhibited no indications of intoxication, police conducted a search of the vehicle for drugs. No drugs were found, but the car was impounded at the discretion of the police, leaving Brock upset and confused.
The following day, Brock went to the NYPD precinct PSA 6 to inquire about her vehicle and the incident. Officers could not find her vehicle or any record of the stop in their system. Upon finding out the vehicle in question is a BMW, the officers took on an air of disbelief, repeatedly asking Brock for her age. Brock, who is 32 years old, refused to answer, believing this question irrelevant and inappropriate to the situation.
Could Race Have Been A Factor?
Brock’s attorney, Michael Lamonsoff, says race may have been a factor in the way Brock was treated. “How would you act if you were being told you were crazy?” he said in an interview with the New York Daily News.
Feeling impatient, Brock waited outside of the station, idling her time with small activities. The police told Brock that she was making them nervous with her “erratic” behavior. In response, Brock attempted to leave, but was detained and handcuffed by police who insisted they were taking her to her car.
Brock stated she was treated in a condescending manner and was spoken to as though she were crazy. The officers repeatedly ask her why she would not tell them her age. Ms. Brock was led into an ambulance where the police continued to insist they were taking her to her car even though she was handcuffed and in an emergency vehicle.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Brock was strapped down, forcibly sedated via injection. During her stay, she was injected with sedatives multiple times and administered lorazepam and lithium. She was retained in the hospital for 8 days, during which time no hospital staff took the initiative to check her claims. The standard requirement for forcible commitment to a mental hospital is that the patient must exhibit a danger to herself or others. Hospital records show absolutely no violent behavior from Kamilah Brock or justification for her involuntary detainment.
Factual claims made by Ms. Brock, including her employment as a banker and the fact that President Obama follows her twitter account, are noted several times in her hospital chart. Though these things are true, Brock was forced to parrot to doctors that they were untrue and confess that she was lying.
At the end of the 8-day stay, Brock was discharged from the hospital with no warning or explanation. She says she was given discharge papers and told she was free to go with no comment on her progress or mental state. Simply, they let her out the back door.
As an additional insult, Ms. Brock received a bill for $13,637 for her involuntary stay in the mental healthcare facility. The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Defendants have yet to answer.