Imagine being pulled over by police for driving an expensive car while Black. Now imagine spending over a week in a mental hospital because the police refuse to believe that you could own an expensive luxury vehicle.
According to PIX 11, this happened to Kamilah Brock and she wants the NYPD to be held accountable for the abuse she endured.
In Sept. 2014, Brock, 32, was driving her 2003 BMW 325Ci when she was pulled over by police in Harlem, New York. Brock admitted to playing her music loudly and dancing in her car while at a traffic light. The NYPD officer approached Brock and told her she was pulled over because she didn’t have her hands on the steering wheel. Brock was told to get out of the car and taken to the police station where she was held for several hours, but never charged with a crime. The officers told her she could pick up her car the next day.
However, when she arrived at the police substation, she was placed in handcuffs and approached by EMS. They told Brock that they would take her to her car, but she was placed in an ambulance and driven to Harlem Hospital.
While at Harlem Hospital, Brock was reportedly injected with sedatives and strong doses of lithium. Brock remembers doctors at the hospital removing her underwear and she eventually blacked out due to the medication in her system.
For the next eight days, the doctors told her that she would be allowed to leave if she admitted that she didn’t own the BMW, she wasn’t a professional banker, and that President Obama didn’t follow her on Twitter. They believed Brock had lied to authorities about those three things and claimed she was delusional and suffered from bipolar disorder. However, Brock didn’t have a history of mental health issues, she owned the BMW, she worked as a banker, and President Obama does follow her on Twitter. She was eventually released, but she was forced to pay a $13K medial bill.
Brock has decided to file a lawsuit against the city of New York.
The NYPD has developed a reputation for racial bias and New York taxpayers are being forced to pay for their mistakes. The family of Eric Garner will receive $5.9 million after he was choked to death by an officer who used excessive force. Tennis star James Blake will likely receive a hefty check from the city of New York after video proved that he was racially profiled and slammed to the ground by an undercover cop. And it’s likely that Brock will also receive money for the abuse she endured.
Across the nation, police with racist attitudes are furthering the divide between police and the citizens they are paid to protect. Brock’s ordeal and similar cases prove, again, that legislation must be implemented to eradicate police brutality.
