NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Brooklyn woman claims she was wrongfully arrested when she filmed officers arresting her ex-boyfriend and has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the two NYPD officers.
Robbin Vazquez alleges in a lawsuit filed Friday that she was falsely imprisoned and retaliated against for having the right to record police activity when she filmed Officers Alfredo Brewster and Obson Cesar arresting Orlando Sepulveda, 34, for gun possession in Coney Island in February 2019.
The 42-year-old claimed in a lawsuit obtained by The New York Daily News that she was walking her dog when the officers arrested Sepulveda, her son's father, and that she complied with their orders to step back as she recorded the encounter.
As Sepulveda was held at Police Service Area 1, Vazquez alleges she visited him and brought him food.
On her second visit, Vazquez said she went outside to smoke a cigarette. She was then joined by Brewster and confronted him about Sepulveda's arrest.
"I explained to him … He was out of line. They just scared me. He apologized," she told The Daily News.
However, when she returned with Sepulveda two days later to collect his items, Vazquez claims she was arrested with no explanation.
"He pulled the cuffs out and he arrested me. He didn't read me any rights. He just arrested me. I really didn't know what I was arrested for until months after," she added.
According to the criminal complaint, Vazquez was charged with obstructing governmental administration for "distracting" Cesar and Brewster by "being too close with her leashed dog."
She was reportedly placed in a holding cell, where Cesar watched her throughout the day and made flirtatious remarks, which made her uncomfortable, according to the suit.
At one point, Vazquez alleged that she began to exercise in the cell to calm her anxiety.
"He was like, 'Oh, you work out? You're in great shape,'" she said.
According to the suit, Cesar also commented about how nice she looked on her ID card and said, "You look like you have a good time."
Ultimately, the Brooklyn District Attorney declined to prosecute her case after more than a day and a half in custody.
Barbara Hamilton, her Legal Aid Society attorney, told the outlet that Vazquez's "unlawful arrest in retaliation for recording the police cannot be seen as an isolated incident but rather as a symptom of a widespread attitude held by the city and the NYPD to stifle the public's First Amendment right to record the police."
Meanwhile, Sepulveda pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail.
The New York City Law Department did not respond to a request for a comment from The Daily News. Brewster and the NYPD declined to comment. Cesar could not be reached for comment.
Vazquez, who has since moved out of New York City, said Cesar and Brester "really don't understand what they took from me."
"I honestly feel that they should not be allowed to deal with the public until they are trained with some more empathy," she said.
