A Manhattan lady was awarded over $400,000 on Friday by a federal jury after suing New York Metropolis and its police division, saying she suffered a traumatic mind harm when she was thrown to the bottom by a police sergeant whereas serving as a medic for protesters throughout 2012 Occupy Wall Street occasions.
Mary Tardif, 33, received the $431,250 award practically a decade after suing in 2013. She had sought unspecified damages for accidents she incurred as a medic for protesters at a number of rallies staged by the grassroots motion that started in Manhattan, unfold globally, and was identified for its chorus: “We are the 99 percent.”
In an interview, Tardif known as the decision “very vindicating.”
“I feel like I have actually known justice for the first time,” stated Tardif, who works at Broadway Advocacy Coalition the place she does signal language decoding for Broadway exhibits and serves as a incapacity adviser.
Tardif, who has had epilepsy since she was 19, stated she thought of the decision, which discovered “battery” had occurred however no assault, a win for these “occupiers who never got to see this day or never got to have their day in court.”
“It feels like a win for all of us. I wish I could share it with them. There were so many,” she stated, talking of others who had been injured at rallies, as she celebrated at a restaurant close to the courthouse together with her service canine, Daisy, a black Labrador Retriever who was with Tardif all through the trial however was hidden from jurors.
Nick Paolucci, a New York Metropolis Regulation Division spokesperson, stated town was “upset with this outcome” and was reviewing choices.
He famous {that a} jury in 2018 had rejected the claims earlier than the 2nd U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals in Manhattan reinstated the case, citing flaws within the first trial.
Paolucci stated Tardif “was never thrown to the ground, as she claimed. Additionally, and unfortunately, the jury was not aware that the plaintiff had introduced new injuries at this second trial that were never alleged in the initial case.”
Throughout opening statements, metropolis lawyer Michael Viviano stated a police sergeant who has since been promoted to lieutenant grabbed onto Tardif’s arms on March 21, 2012, and moved her away as police had been clearing a park in Union Sq. as a result of she had put her palms on a police officer’s again.
“The plaintiff then falls to the ground. The plaintiff was not thrown,” he stated.
Reza Rezvani, an lawyer arguing on Tardif’s behalf, informed jurors in a gap assertion that the sergeant grabbed her with each of his palms.
“He throws her to the ground. Her head hits the pavement,” he stated.
Tardif maintained in her 2013 lawsuit that her epileptic situation was usually ignored after she suffered violent abuses from cops who arrested her at a number of protests whereas she served as a medic. The lawsuit stated they kicked her, walked on her limbs and tossed her to the bottom.
In accordance with trial proof and Tardif’s statements, the violent encounter at Union Sq. triggered her head to slam into the bottom with such power that she was left with a everlasting mind harm that leaves her unable to work besides for a job the place she has versatile hours and might generally name in sick when she is totally motionless.