Flowers v. City of New York

53 Misc. 3d 922, 41 N.Y.S.3d 360
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 5, 2016
StatusPublished

This text of 53 Misc. 3d 922 (Flowers v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flowers v. City of New York, 53 Misc. 3d 922, 41 N.Y.S.3d 360 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lynn R. Kotler, J.

This action arises from plaintiffs arrest. Defendants City of New York, Detective Joseph Nicolosi (sometimes herein referred to as Detective Nicolisi), shield No. 06341, Police Officer (P.O.) “John Doe #1,” shield No. 5853, P.O. “John Doe #2,” shield No. 6118, P.O. Bhagan and P.O. Clark move to dismiss and/or for summary judgment (CPLR 3211, 3212). Plaintiff opposes the motion. The motion is decided as follows.

[924]*924Facts

According to his complaint, plaintiff was arrested on November 20, 2008 after members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) executed a search warrant at 1116 Tinton Avenue, apartment 4B, Bronx, New York. Plaintiff testified about the events leading up to his arrest at his deposition as follows. Plaintiff went to the gym the morning of his arrest. As he was leaving the gym, he received a phone call from his wife, Jennifer Manzanillo, who told him “to meet her at her house.” Plaintiff’s wife’s “house” is the apartment. Plaintiff went directly from the gym to the apartment. He arrived at the apartment between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. Plaintiff rung the bell to the apartment and his wife’s mother buzzed him in. When he got to the door of the apartment, his wife’s mother let him' in. Plaintiff had been to the apartment at least more than 10 times.

The apartment had three bedrooms. Plaintiff’s wife lived in one bedroom, plaintiff’s wife’s mother lived in a second bedroom, and plaintiff’s wife’s brother, Ravelo Manzanillo, his wife and his daughter lived in the third room. When plaintiff entered the apartment, he went directly into his wife’s room. His wife was not home at the time he arrived. Other than his wife’s mother, “Ravelo’s daughter and the mother had a friend” at the apartment. According to plaintiff, all three of these individuals were in the living room. Plaintiff got undressed, left his clothes in his wife’s bedroom and took a shower while he waited for his wife to arrive. Meanwhile, about five minutes later, “the A-Team came in, I don’t know what they call it, narcotics task force, came in.”

Plaintiff further testified as follows:

“Q. What, if anything, did you hear while you were taking a shower; could you hear anything taking place in the apartment?
“A. Just screaming and a bunch of booms, a loud pounding noise and screams.
“Q. Do you know who was screaming?
“A. Her mother and her mother’s friend.
“Q. Could you decipher any words or conversation while you were in the shower?
“A. No, the water was running, it was over my ears.
“Q. What do you mean when you said you were hearing booms?
[925]*925“A. Like boom, like they exit without knocking, they broke down the door. . . .
“Q. Did anyone have time to enter the bathroom while you were taking a shower?
“A. Yes.
“Q. Who did?
“A. Several officers broke down the bathroom door. . . .
“Q. Did any of those officers enter the bathroom?
“A. Yes.
“Q. Do you know how many?
“A. Two. . . .
“Q. Did any of the two officers say anything when they entered the bathroom?
“A. Yes.
“Q. What did they say?
“A. Turn off the water and get out the shower. . . .
“Q. Did you say anything in response?
“A. No.
“Q. Did you do anything in response?
“A. Turn off the water and got out the shower.
“Q. Did Detective Nicholas say anything else while he was in the shower?
“A. Told me to find my towel.
“Q. Did he say anything else?
“A. He asked who I was and why was I there.
“Q. Did you respond?
“A. Yes.
“Q. How did you respond?
“A. I said, ‘My wife lives here.’ In return he said, ‘Who is your wife, are you legally married?’ I said, Yes, my wife, Jennifer Manzanillo lives here and I was waiting for her to return.’ That was it. . . .
“Q. Did any of those two officers identify themselves as police officers at any point?
“A. Joseph, after he asked me who I was and what I was doing there, he said, ‘Well, I’m Detective Nicholas, Joseph and we are conducting a search warrant.’ That is what he said.”

Detective Nicholas, whose actual name is Detective Joseph Nicolisi, eventually told plaintiff that the police were “conduct[926]*926ing a search warrant on someone living in the house accused of selling narcotics.” Plaintiff waited in the hallway outside the bathroom for approximately 10 minutes with his hands on his head. Detective Nicolisi then asked plaintiff where his clothes were. Plaintiff told him they were on the bed. Detective Nicolisi led plaintiff to his wife’s bedroom to retrieve his clothes. He asked plaintiff for ID and after looking at his ID told plaintiff he lived in a “bad area.” Detective Nicolisi asked plaintiff where his wife was again. Plaintiff said “she is with her brother.”

Detective Nicolisi then told plaintiff to get dressed. As he was dressing, Detective Nicolisi asked if plaintiff had any other clothes there. Plaintiff said no. Detective Nicolisi then asked, “how is this possible if this is your wife?” Plaintiff told him, “we don’t live together, we are going to get an apartment together soon, I was just released from prison.” Plaintiff finished getting dressed and Detective Nicolisi “put the handcuffs on [him] as soon as [he] put [his] shirt on.” Plaintiff asked, “ [i] f I’m not a part of this search warrant or being arrested, why am I being put in handcuffs?” Detective Nicolisi allegedly said, “we’ll figure it out later.”

Plaintiff was then told to sit on the couch with his mother-in-law and her friend, who were also in handcuffs. Plaintiff asked Detective Nicolisi:

“[W]hy am I being placed in handcuffs if you, meaning Joseph, told me that the search warrant wasn’t for me, was involved with me at all whatsoever. And then in return, Joseph kept saying, then tell me who you really is, like as if I lied about who I was. Joseph said, 1 have been investigating this apartment for a long time, I never saw you, never met you, who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m Antoine Flowers, like I said is on my ID, my wife live here, I was waiting for her to come.’ ”

Plaintiff had been released from prison on September 15, 2008. Plaintiff could not recall at his deposition how frequently he went to the apartment prior to his arrest, but since his release from prison, he stated that he had “spent the night in that apartment the most three times.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 Misc. 3d 922, 41 N.Y.S.3d 360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flowers-v-city-of-new-york-nysupct-2016.