New York City woman to file $10M lawsuit after arrest for improperly wearing face mask

A New York City woman plans to file a $10 million lawsuit against the police department after she was arrested last month for improperly wearing a face mask while on a subway platform, her attorney told ABC News on Wednesday.

Twenty-two-year-old Kaleemah Rozier was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment after officers said they asked her to wear a face mask inside the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn on May 13.

Rozier said she was on her way home with her 5-year-old son when she was approached by several unidentified New York Police Department (NYPD) officers.

The NYPD said she was not properly wearing a face mask over her mouth and nose and that officers approached her and “politely informed” her that she could not be in the subway system without a face covering. Rozier responded with “vulgar language” and “repeatedly refused” to “properly wear her face covering over her nose and mouth,” police said.

Rozier said her son was “pulled away from her” and she was forced to the floor, with an officer placing a knee on the back of her neck.

She also alleged she was “pushed in the back of her head and neck to the ground, had her arm pulled and twisted, had a knee pressed in the back of her neck and forcefully placed in handcuffs” by at least six police officers.

“I just want justice,” Rozier told ABC News on Wednesday.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office told ABC they are “looking into dismissing the charges” against Rozier.

In late April, New York state made it mandatory to wear a face mask in public spaces. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends wearing facial coverings in public spaces where social distancing is not possible.

A two-minute video of Rozier’s encounter with police was later shared on social media.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) reacted to the video on Twitter, saying that while face masks are “important to protect everybody” and “not optional,” he didn’t approve of the officers’ actions in the video.

“No one wants to see an interaction turn into this,” he said. “We’ve made progress with de-escalation. This isn’t it.”

The city spent $220.1 million in notice of claims settlements filed against the NYPD during the 2019 fiscal year, according to ABC.