crimes and misdemeanors

NYPD Sued for Mocking, Arresting Abuse Victims Who Don’t Speak English

 New York Police Department Patrol Car
Photo: Alan Schein Photography/Corbis

A very ugly new lawsuit filed against the NYPD by Legal Services NYC on behalf of five female immigrants alleges that officers frequently side with the English-speaking half of a couple, even arresting female victims who couldn’t communicate, the Daily News reports. “I kept asking for an interpreter,” said one woman, who says she was told, “Oh si, hablo español. Goal! Goal! Mexico!” and spent the night in jail “for her lack of respect for the police.” Another woman added, “I was told that I am in the USA, I need to speak English.” The department, which claimed it uses a “volunteer translator program” in addition to Spanish-speaking officers, also faced criticism last week for its handling of domestic-abuse cases after a memo leaked urging cops to perform background checks on the accuser.

NYPD Sued for Mocking, Arresting Abuse Victims