City & State: NYC paid $120,000 to settle police misconduct allegations against now-GOP candidate Alison Esposito

"In 2017, Esposito was sued for allegedly arresting and assaulting an infant. The city paid the infant's mother a $25,000 settlement."

A damning report in City & State exposed MAGA extremist Alison Esposito for being sued twice over alleged wrongful arrests that ultimately resulted in settlements costing New York taxpayers $120,000.

Taxpayers were forced to foot the bill to clean up Esposito's mess during her time at the NYPD.

In 2005, she was accused of using excessive force when arresting three Black women falsely accused of shoplifting. In a separate lawsuit filed in 2017, Esposito is accused of assaulting, detaining, and arresting an infant.

Just this week, reporting in Politico also revealed that Esposito lost her gun, police identification, and shield while serving in the NYPD - which were stolen from an unlocked car. Esposito did not report the incident until up to two days later and was reprimanded by the NYPD for her actions, including getting 20 vacation days docked "for failing to safeguard the firearm."

DCCC Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty:
"Alison Esposito would like voters to believe she's tough on crime, but the reality is she's been tough on women, children, and innocent people who didn't deserve it. Her record at the NYPD continues to face scrutiny - and we are just scratching the surface. We can't wait for Hudson Valley voters to get to know the real Alison Esposito."

City & State: NYC paid $120,000 to settle police misconduct allegations against now-GOP candidate Alison Esposito
August 14, 2024 | Timmy Facciola

KEY POINTS:

• In her bid to unseat Pat Ryan from the 18th Congressional District, Republican Alison Esposito has touted her 25 years of experience in the New York City Police Department as proof she has what it takes to "restore law and order."

• While she was still [a police officer], though, her misconduct record cost New York City taxpayers $120,000. Twice in Esposito's career, the city settled lawsuits and paid people who alleged that Esposito had treated them unlawfully. In 2005, Esposito was sued by three Black women who accused her and other NYPD officers of violating their civil rights by wrongfully arresting them on suspicion of shoplifting. The city ultimately settled the case for $95,000. In 2017, Esposito was sued for allegedly arresting and assaulting an infant. The city paid the infant's mother a $25,000 settlement.

• In September 2003, three Black women - Kelli Williams, Diane Hodges and Markeyta Wicker - were shopping at an H&M during a trip to Manhattan with their Philadelphia church group. According to a complaint that the three women later filed against New York City, Williams spotted a purse with money hanging out of it near the register. Williams picked up the purse, said that the money looked fake, and then walked out of the store with Hodges, her aunt. As they left the store, the two were swarmed by plain clothes police officers - including Esposito, who grabbed Williams and held her. According to the complaint, Williams told the officers that although she had touched the bag, she had not taken anything from it and had paid for everything in her own bag. The complaint states that Williams asked Esposito to let her go, but Esposito refused and instead wrapped her arm around Williams' neck, pulling her even closer as another officer approached Williams and "stated in substance you're going down bitch." Esposito and another officer handcuffed Williams while other officers arrested Hodges and Wicker. The three women were charged with shoplifting, though the cases against them were later dismissed.

• Williams, Hodges, and Wicker then sued New York City in federal court, alleging that "New York City police officers are encouraged to believe that they can violate the rights of persons, particularly, African-Americans like (the) plaintiffs … with impunity." Esposito was among the officers named in the suit. The city later paid the three women a total of $95,000 to settle the case.

• In 2016, Esposito and another officer entered an apartment building on East 101st Street and "did unlawfully stop, assault, frisk, handcuff, detain, arrest and imprison" an infant named Rebecca Cuevas, according to a complaint later filed by Cuevas' mother, Chantal Vasquez. An attorney for Esposito responded to the complaint by denying the allegations, arguing that "plaintiffs' culpable conduct caused or contributed, in whole or in part, to their injuries or damages." But New York City ultimately settled the lawsuit for $25,000.

• Esposito received eight complaints through the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, though none of those were substantiated. On Aug. 12, Politico reported that Esposito was reprimanded by her superiors in the NYPD after she left her gun and badge in an unlocked car and they were stolen.

• Esposito is the second Republican congressional candidate whose NYPD record has recently come under scrutiny. Last month, the Daily News published an investigation into Long Island Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, noting that while he worked at the 73rd Precinct and moonlit as a bartender, he was "'known for flashing his gun around' and 'being reckless.'"

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