Plaintiff:
Anthony Patterson
Incident date:
03/08/2013
Location:
145 W. 71st St.
Allegations:
Patterson was leaving a friend's home near 71st and State streets. He was walking in the road alongside the curb, assisted by two friends, to avoid the icy sidewalks and potentially injuring his back as he had done the previous day. Officers Serrano Jr. and Palermo pulled up in their squad car alongside the three friends. Serrano grabbed Patterson by the arm and pulled him away from his friends, handcuffed him, thrust him into their vehicle and interrogated him about why he was walking in the street as they drove him to two parking lots. He threatened to imprison Patterson if he did not sign a ticket for walking in the street. Patterson told officers about his previous fall and why he was avoiding the icy sidewalks. A sergeant pulled up next to the vehicle Patterson was in, asked the officers why they were holding him and told them to return Patterson to his original location. Officers wrote Patterson a ticket for walking alongside a roadway. Patterson signed it and officers released him. The ticket was later dismissed.