Ithaca police, city issue response to racial profiling accusations
- 1. ! (http://www.facebook.com/theithacavoice) " (http://twitter.com/ithacavoice) # (https://www.instagram.com/ithacavoice) $ (http://ithacavoice.com/feed/) SIGN IN / JOIN (HTTP://ITHACAVOICE.COM/WP-LOGIN.PHP) Always free, always local. (http://ithacavoice.com) Support Us (www.ithacavoice.com/membership) % &
- 2. Ithaca police, city issue legal response to racial pro7ling accusations NEWS (HTTP://ITHACAVOICE.COM/CATEGORY/NEWS/), TOP (HTTP://ITHACAVOICE.COM/CATEGORY/TOP/) / SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 / BY BENEDETTA LUCIANA SARA CARNAGHI (HTTP://ITHACAVOICE.COM/AUTHOR/BENEDETTA-LUCIANA-SARA-CARNAGHI/) Your local news is made possible by support from: (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) P L AT I N U M U N D E R W R I T E R Cayuga Medical Center (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) Healing and preventing chronic wounds. (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247)
- 3. (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) P L AT I N U M U N D E R W R I T E R Cayuga Medical Center (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) Healing and preventing chronic wounds. (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) P L AT I N U M U N D E R W R I T E R Cayuga Medical Center (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) Healing and preventing chronic wounds. (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73247) ITHACA, N.Y. The City of Ithaca, the Ithaca Police Department and an Ithaca police sergeant have submitted a response to the lawsuit 鍖led by the mothers of two teenagers who say their sons were racially pro鍖led in a controversial incident (http://ithacavoice.com/category/story-database/sgt- pulls-guns-on-teens/) on the night of August 9, 2014. The incident and damages alleged in the complaint were caused by the the plaintiffs culpable conduct," states the defense 鍖ling, submitted earlier this month in federal court, by the city and police department, "and the defendants acts were privileged, justi鍖ed, reasonable, without malice, and were done in good faith, with reasonable suspicion, with probable cause, and/or under exigent circumstances." The incident and damages alleged in the complaint were caused by the culpable conduct of a third person or third persons over whom these defendants had no control and for whose acts these defendants are not responsible.
- 4. The mothers $2 million lawsuit (http://ithacavoice.com/2015/08/new- lawsuit-ithaca-police-racially-pro鍖led-teens-in-2014-incident/) says that, on that day, the two teenagers went to play basketball at Helen Newman Hall on the Cornell Campus. At 10:15 pm, they left the gym with some friends and rode their bicycles back towards Collegetown, down Buffalo Street, and then biked to the house of one of the teens' mothers on Third Street. (http://ithacavoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BupNbaKIIAAJRdo.jpg? 468fb8) A police sergeant pulled his weapon on two unarmed minority teens one night in August 2014, the same night of a car 鍖re shown above. That decision is now at the heart of a $2 million civil lawsuit against the city and IPD. (Provided photo) According to the lawsuit, during this biking trip Ithaca police Sgt. John Norman racially pro鍖led the boys and proceeded to treat them as suspects in two arsons they had not committed. The children tried to get
- 5. away from the of鍖cer who appeared to them an unidenti鍖ed man in an unmarked Volvo but Norman exited his vehicle and pulled his gun on them, telling them to lay down on the ground, according to the lawsuit. While the boys complied, at least four other Ithaca police of鍖cers arrived on the scene and handcuffed them. When the boys mothers arrived, they found their children on the ground, crying, with their hands handcuffed behind their backs," the complaint states. The incident set off a wave of protests at City Hall and led Mayor Svante Myrick to propose a series (http://ithacavoice.com/2014/08/editorial- mayor-myricks-proposed-police-reforms-bold-innovative-meaningful/) of police reforms. City's defense The city and police department, however, deny that they are to blame for any harm incurred by the boys. CONTENT CONTINUED BELOW (http://www.ithacavoice.com/membership) ANNOUNCEMENT
- 6. The incident and damages alleged in the complaint were caused by plaintiffs culpable conduct, reads one line of the defense. Plaintiffs assumed the risk of injury, which risks were open, obvious, and known. The City of Ithacas answer also denies many of the allegations of the initial complaint; for instance, that the city police force treated innocent African American youth who would not comply with a white, unidenti鍖ed of鍖cers directives or that they covered up their actions by falsely and publicly connecting the boys to a criminal investigation. The complaint also claimed that as a result of Sgt. Norman drawing a weapon against them, the boys had experienced pain, suffering and mental anguish; fear of law enforcement; loss of enjoyment in life; loss of dignity; loss of constitutional rights; damage to reputation and good name; stress, anxiety and fear. (http://ithacavoice.com/the-ithaca-voice-series-page-catch-up-with-the-crucial- ithaca-stories-you-may-have-missed/) Click on the Ithaca Voice Story Database to learn more. Stories on this topic are 鍖led under "Sgt. pulls gun on minority teens in Ithaca." The citys response denies that Norman should be a defendant in the lawsuit. To the extent there are claims against defendant John Norman in his of鍖cial capacity, they are barred because they are duplicative of the claims against defendants City of Ithaca and the Ithaca Police Department, the defense states.
- 7. When news of the lawsuit emerged in August, city of鍖cials then said they would 鍖ght the claims they called entirely meritless. The stop was legal, justi鍖ed and entirely race-neutral, as indicated by the Citys internal review of this incident, said a statement from Mayor Myrick and Chief John Barber. The city is being defended in the lawsuit by Molly M. Ryan of Goldberg Segalla LLP. The teens' mothers are being represented by Ray Schlather, a prominent Ithaca attorney. (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) G O L D U N D E R W R I T E R Honda of Ithaca (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) Featuring the 2016 CRV LX (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) G O L D U N D E R W R I T E R Honda of Ithaca (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) Featuring the 2016 CRV LX (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) G O L D U N D E R W R I T E R Honda of Ithaca (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) Featuring the 2016 CRV LX (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) L E A R N M O R E (http://ad.broadstreetads.com/click/73091) We believe that free access to in-depth, locally-focused journalism makes our community stronger and better informed. Click the button below to make a one-time donation or join our generous Ithaca Voice Donor Members (http://www.ithacavoice.com/membership) who sustain us with monthly recurring gifts.
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