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Town withholding details of incident
By Justin MasonWoman to file lawsuit against Rotterdam police
ROTTERDAM — Carla Cerniglia’s arrest last summer never made it to Rotterdam Town Court, nor was the disposition of her case ever disclosed by town police.
The identity of the officers who responded to a complaint were redacted from an incident report provided to The Daily Gazette, as were the charges Cerniglia faced when she was brought to the police department Aug. 17.
But now, the details of her arrest are the subject of a notice of claim filed by Cerniglia against the town last month, alleging Rotterdam police falsely arrested and beat her during an incident near Mercer Avenue that evening.
“The agents, officers, servants of the town of Rotterdam Police Department knew full well that [Cerniglia] did not commit any offense, yet they assaulted and arrested [Cerniglia], all in violation of her civil rights,” states the claim, which was received by the town attorney’s office in Nov. 12.
Attorney Lara Barnett, who is representing Cerniglia, declined to comment on the claim.
In the notice of claim, Cerniglia accuses Rotterdam police of falsely accusing her of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration — both misdemeanor charges. She also states police “negligently, carelessly and recklessly struck, shoved and grabbed” her, causing her to “sustain serious injuries.”
“As a result of the herein described false arrest, malicious prosecution, assault, negligence and violation of civil rights … [Cerniglia] has sustained physical injuries, emotional and psychological trauma, severe humiliation and embarrassment, great damage to her reputation, a loss of esteem in the community, was subjected to score and ridicule, was forced to incur substantial medical and legal expenses and suffered a severe violation and deprivation of the civil rights guaranteed to [her],” the claim states.
Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi referred all comment to Town Attorney Kate McGuirl, who declined comment, claiming that to do so would be a violation of state civil rights laws.
The claim follows a pair of suspensions handed out to Rotterdam officers in September, one of which stemmed from a complaint in August, Police Chief James Hamilton has said. Police and town officials have repeatedly declined to identify the suspended officers, the circumstances surrounding the August incident or the terms of their discipline.
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