Mother Granted $625k Judgment In Lawsuit Against New York City For Snatching Her Child Away From Her At Food Assistance Center

Jazmine Headley, 24, sued the city of New York in August after being left traumatized and humiliated in December 2018 at a Brooklyn benefits office by NYPD. Now, the city must pay Headley $625,000 to resolve the matter.

In the viral video from late last year, police officers are seen forcefully pulling Headley’s 18-month-old son away from her as they responded to a call about a dispute with a security guard for her sitting on the floor of the crowded office. Headley was arrested following the incident and spent four days in jail for obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child and trespassing. 

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez dropped all of the charges soon thereafter.

“Like everyone who watched the arrest of Jazmine Headley, I was horrified by the violence depicted in the video,’ Gonzalez said in a statement. ‘It is clear to me that this incident should have been handled diffidently.’ 

According to Daily Mail, Headley testified before the city council in February, to which they offered her a public apology and passed legislation aiming at improving how people are treated at benefits offices. On Friday, the Law Department said the city will pay to resolve the lawsuit.

“Ms. Headley came to the city seeking help, and we failed to treat her with the dignity and respect she deserved,” the city said. While this injustice should have never happened, it forced a reckoning with how we treat our most vulnerable and prompted us to make reforms at HRA [Human Resources Administration] Centers across the city.”