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Former Mount Vernon resident Israel Roman filed a lawsuit against the department this week alleging that he was wrongfully arrested and forced to submit to a strip and cavity search while at police headquarters.
Despite the was strip-searched, Roman was not in possession of drugs, alcohol, or other contraband, and officers reportedly had no reason to suspect he did.
The lawsuit names the city, police department former Police Commissioner Shawk Harris, current Police Commissioner Glenn Scott, and several other members of the department who were present during the arrest and witnessed his treatment while he was in custody.
The entire lawsuit came about when Roman got into an argument with a neighbor in October 2019 that required police intervention. Roman and his partner reportedly got into an argument with the neighbor, during which he pushed him, leading to Roman's arrest.
According to the lawsuit, the neighbor acknowledged that Roman pushed him, but no injuries were reported, though the third party admitted to police that she struck the neighbor with a bat.
Following his arrest for second-degree assault, Roman was transported to police headquarters, where he was allegedly instructed to take off his clothes for the search.
The charge against Roman was dropped to a misdemeanor later and ultimately dropped entirely as of last month.
A spokesperson for the City of Mount Vernon declined to comment citing pending litigation.
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