A mom living in the Bronx borough of New York City was merely trying to teach her young son a valuable lesson about why stealing is wrong. She petitioned the help of people who should know best—New York’s finest—when she ended up being handcuffed herself, DNAinfo New York reports.
According to the report, 29-year-old Tyeesha Mobley called 911 to ask the police to come talk to her son, but instead she was arrested and one of the officers told her “you black bitches don’t know how to take care of your kids,” her lawsuit claims.
Mobley is filing a suit against New York City, the Police Department and the Administration for Children’s Services after, she alleges, she was handcuffed and roughed up and had her two young children taken away from her for four months because of her request.
“She was simply trying to make sure her son stayed on the right path,” Attorney Philip Sporn told DNAinfo New York. “This shouldn’t happen to anyone, let alone to a good mom with her kids.”
It all started last April when Mobley discovered that her 9-year-old son, Tyleke, had taken $10 out of her purse. She decided to enlist some help, and a police dispatcher sent over four cops, who met with the 9-year-old and his 4-year-old brother at a gas station near their apartment.
According to Mobley, things were going well at first. “They started asking Tyleke what did he take,” Mobley testified at an October hearing. “He told them. And about three officers was joking around with him, telling him, ‘You can’t be stealing; you’ll wind up going in the police car.’”
However, the fourth responding officer wasn’t happy about the assignment. Mobley claims in her lawsuit that the officer said, “‘You black bitches don’t know how to take care of your kids. … You need to call the kids’ father, not us. … We can’t raise your kids. … Why are you wasting our time? We aren’t here to raise your kid. … Why don’t you take your f—king kid and leave?’”
When the mother attempted to leave, the officer stopped her and said she was being arrested. When she asked on what grounds, the officer allegedly responded, “‘If you’re going to say another f—king word, I’m going to knock your teeth down your throat.’”
Mobley says she was then cuffed and thrown against a squad car and kicked in her legs.
“All I was saying is, ‘Please stop, you’re hurting me; my kids is there,’” she said. The boys were allegedly crying and begging the officer to stop.
According to the lawsuit, a female officer in the squad car told the officer that that was not how they were supposed to act, but the arresting officer reportedly said, “‘Black bitches like that … this is how I treat them.’”
Mobley and her kids were taken to a police station in separate cars. The mother, who had to be taken to the hospital to treat bruising on her legs, ended up being charged with child endangerment. She fought the charges for months before a judge finally dismissed the case.
During all of this, her children were in foster care, where, the lawsuit claims, the foster mother spoke only Spanish. Her youngest son suffered a bad burn while in her care and Tyleke had multiple asthma attacks.
The NYPD has not commented on the lawsuit, according to DNAinfo New York.
Read more at DNAinfo New York.