A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a false-arrest claim against the city by two Occupy Wall Street protestors who were dragged by cops at a Citibank branch in Greenwich Village but she’s allowing the husband and wife to sue top police brass and the arresting officers.
Manhattan federal Judge Denise Cote also dismissed an excessive-force claim against the city by plaintiffs Heather Carpenter and Julio Jose Jimenez-Artunduaga — whose arrest was caught on a video that went viral on the Internet. But Cote allowed the force claim to proceed against the four cops and their two supervisors: now-retired NYPD chief Joseph Esposito, Chief of Patrol James Hall and four sergeants.
Carpenter, then a 23-year-old nursing student, had ignited the Oct. 15, 2011 brouhaha by heading to the bank with 20 demonstrators to close her account in protest of what they claimed were predatory lending and unfair banking fees.
The suit was the first filed in connection with the Occupy Wall Street protests.
“Given the facts as they appeared to the arresting officers, it was reasonable for them to conclude that Carpenter’s decision to remain in that Citibank branch and move to a teller’s window to engage in a banking transaction was a decision to continue to engage in protest activity in defiance of the bank employees,” Cote wrote in the 26-page opinion.
“To the extent that there is any doubt in this regard, the defendants would be entitled to qualified immunity for the decisions they made in arresting Carpenter.”
The couple’s lawyer, Ron Kuby, said he’s happy the judge is allowing the case against the cops to continue but questioned whether the other part of her ruling violates “basic” First Amendment Rights of “freedom of speech.”
“The dismissal of the false-arrest claims means that if you are closing your account as part of a protest, you can be arrested,” said Kuby.
“While Citibank is a big contributor to the New York economy, I don’t think you should be arrested for closing your account there as part of a protest.”
Cote, however, wrote, “Closing a bank account is, of course, lawful activity. There is no suggestion that it would have been unlawful for Carpenter to go to any other Citibank branch that day to close her account.”
The judge also noted in her decision that the plaintiffs failed to file a “complete set of papers” opposing the city’s motion to dismiss the suit.
After a bank staffer had asked the protesters to leave, cops closed the doors and started arresting those inside. Carpenter, who had left the bank already, was restrained outside by an undercover cop posing as a protester and then “dragged” back into the bank, the suit says.
Jimenez-Artunduaga, who was filming the incident, was also arrested outside and brought back into the bank.
Both suffered minor injuries after being handled roughly, the lawsuit claims.