Woman Pushed To Ground By Cop In Brooklyn Protests Sues The City

BROOKLYN, NY — The young woman thrown into seizures when an NYPD officer shoved her to the ground during a police brutality protest in May has officially sued the city.

Dounya Zayer filed a lawsuit Monday against the NYPD, City of New York and the officers involved in the now-viral moment she was pushed to the pavement by since-suspended Officer Vincent D'Andraia near the Barclays Center.

The incident was one of the first moments from the protests captured on video that brought into question the NYPD's use of force against protesters spurred by the death of George Floyd, who died under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

"Dounya Zayer was peacefully and lawfully exercising her Constitutional Rights to
assemble, free speech, and protest when she was brutally struck by Police Officer Vincent D’Andraia as he walked side by side with his supervisor, and high-ranking police official, Deputy Inspector Craig Edelman," the lawsuit reads.

D'Andraia called Zayer a "stupid b----" before slapping her phone out of her hand and pushing her to the ground on May 29, according to the video and the suit.

Zayer, who had a seizure shortly after the encounter, was hospitalized with a concussion. She later testified in a hearing with the Attorney General that she endured migraines, nausea, insomnia and a fear of police so intense she was unable to leave the house because of the incident.

Monday's suit claims the NYPD, Edelman and the city could have prevented the encounter, particularly considering a history of complaints against D'Andraia.

"Defendant D’Andraia should not have been permitted to police protests or be a police officer given his known propensity to violate the rights of citizens," the lawsuit reads.

Zayer's lawsuit is far from the only legal action to come out of the NYPD's behavior during Black Lives Matte protest over the summer.

The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society have both sued the city on behalf of at least 11 named plaintiffs who say they were assaulted and abused by police officers during the nightly demonstrations.

Lawsuits are also expected from several protesters who attended a demonstration in the Bronx where the actions of police have since been named a violation of international human rights lawsby Human Rights Watch.