Last month, NY1 was the first TV station to show you video of a nearly naked woman being pulled from her apartment by scores of police officers, and while prosecutors are now dropping some of the most serious charges against her, she and her family still have a legal battle ahead. NY1′s Dean Meminger filed the following report.
Denise Stewart said she was humiliated and thought she was going to die when officers pulled her into the hallway of her Kings Highway building only in her underwear in July, an incident caught on cellphone video.
Police say they got a call that she was beating her daughter. The New York City Police Department and Brooklyn district attorney’s office charged her with assaulting the 12-year-old as well as the officers.
On Tuesday, Stewart appeared in court. The DA’s office said it is dropping the top felony assault charges against her.
Amy Rameau, Stewart’s defense attorney, said this is significant.
“It is tremendous,” she said. “In our contention from the very beginning was that, and continues to be, that these allegations, these charges that were filed, levied against Ms. Stewart are completely unfounded.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson’s office said the felony assault charges are being dismissed because there were no serious physical injuries that could be proven under the law and because Stewart has no criminal history.
However, this case is not going away. The DA is pushing forward with misdemeanor assault charges.
Stewart said she can’t believe what she’s going through.
“It’s stressful,” she said. “We’re still going through trauma. We’re still traumatized thinking about the facts and issues that’s going on.”
Two of her adult children are still facing misdemeanor charges for interfering with a police investigation and assault.
Meanwhile, the 12-year-old daughter who officers say was beaten by Stewart continues battling her own case that she also attacked officers.
Stewart’s attorney blames police for trying to cover up their mistakes. She said they went to the wrong apartment after receiving a 911 domestic violence call.
“It’s nothing more than a profound and tremendous miscarriage of justice against a really good woman,” Rameau said.
Police say she and her children resisted arrest.
The family said they will continue to fight any charges.
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