December 12th 2023.
On May 2, 2020, 23-year-old Christine Greaves attended a Brooklyn funeral that was broken up by New York Police Department officers enforcing COVID lockdown rules on large gatherings. However, it was the events that followed that would become the focus of a lawsuit filed against the city and several officers.
Witnesses say that while Greaves was recording the police presence on her phone, she was allegedly subjected to violent detainment and brutality. Footage shows officers kneeling on Greaves, who can be heard pleading, “I can’t breathe,” echoing the desperate cries of George Floyd under the knee of ex-Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin weeks later on May 25. She is also heard screaming as officers allegedly punched and kicked her.
Greaves' lawyer, Ugochukwu Uzoh, said of the incident, “It’s really troubling when you watch the incident that happened, and that’s how George Floyd lost his life. Thankfully, my client is still alive.” The lawsuit filed by Greaves in the Eastern District of New York on December 3rd named the city and several officers, accusing them of excessive force motivated by racial discrimination.
The complaint alleged Captain Sean Claxton and Officer Michael Napolitano held Greaves down, with Napolitano “pinning her down and choking her by kneeling on her neck.” It added that her asthma allegedly prevented her from breathing properly. Despite alleged pleas from Greaves’ family to stop the assault, the officers allegedly handcuffed and dragged the 23-year-old, slamming her head and body against the police vehicle. She was reportedly denied medical care and access to a bathroom at the precinct and left with serious injuries.
Greaves was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, but prosecutors declined to pursue the case after an investigation. She is now seeking an estimated “six-figure” settlement. Her attorney Uzoh slammed the officers’ actions as “really awful,” occurring “just before the horrible George Floyd murder.” He said his client remains traumatized long after the incident.
The lawsuit comes amid intensified discussions on police brutality in minority communities after recent high-profile deaths at the hands of officers. Greaves’ complaint pointedly argued that she endured violence that she believed white New Yorkers would not face, vowing to hold the NYPD accountable. Other officers named in the suit are Samantha Love, Sergeant Derek Jaffe, and Sergeant Harold Thompson.
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