COLONIE — Starnasia McMillan had just pulled up to her mother's grave in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Watervliet in May 2018 when a Colonie police car turned on its lights behind her.

"I was going through a rough time," McMillan, a Rensselaer resident who was 20 at the time of the incident, told the Times Union in her lawyer's office Monday.

That night, she said all she did was tell her aunt she wanted to be alone. What she didn't know is that her aunt then called police fearing she was suicidal, Town Attorney Michael Magguilli said at a recent public meeting with town officials.

But McMillan said the Colonie police officer didn't tell her that when he pulled her over.

In her federal civil rights lawsuit against the town and police department, she said the officer came up to the car and asked for her driver's license. She didn't have it with her, but cited her license ID number from memory. He said it wouldn't work.

More officers arrived. The first officer asked her whose car it was and ordered her to show him the keys. When she did, he snatched the key, grabbed her fingers, and began reaching into the car to unlock the doors, the complaint says.

McMillan's lawsuit claims two officers unbelted McMillan and ripped her from the car, throwing her to the ground and handcuffing her behind her back. Her complaint said she suffered bruises to the entire right side of her body, including her shoulder, arm and legs.

It was only then, McMillan said, that police officers told her they'd gotten a call for a wellbeing check. She said police told her she was uncooperative and "normal people don't act like that when they're pulled over."

"Maybe police officers should tell everyone what they're trying to pull you over for," she said. "I feel like it was wrong. It shouldn't happen at all."

Police took her to Samaritan Hospital for a psychological evaluation, where she was released the same night. McMillan is still suffering trauma, her complaint said. She said she didn't go back to the cemetery until recently — more than a year later.

"I'm not about to go to my mom's grave and get arrested every time," she said.

McMillan's lawsuit claiming civil rights violations said she wasn't breaking a law and at no time refused direct orders. The complaint said the officer's stop, seizure, and detention of her was illegal.

"The actions and inactions of the defendants as described were extreme, outrageous, and reckless, taken in callous disregard for the safety and welfare of Ms. McMillan, and shock the conscience of a reasonable person," the lawsuit reads.

Her lawyer, Trevor Hannigan, said he wasn't sure if the town had a use-of-force policy when dealing with a person they suspect is in need of mental health assistance, but the complaint said if they don't, it amounts to "deliberate indifference." Magguilli said the police's use-of-force policy wasn't subject to disclosure except in very limited circumstances and then typically only by court order.

The complaint alleged Colonie police have a history of misconduct, but did not cite any specific cases.

The Times Union reported a 2013 federal lawsuit that alleged Colonie police officers tasered a man twice, applied excessively tight handcuffs, and took him against his will to Ellis Hospital. A court ruled in favor of the town in 2017.

In 2015, a Colonie police officer stomped on the handcuffed hands of a suspect accused of disobeying orders to back away who was charged with obstructing governmental administration, criminal trespass and resisting arrest. The incident was captured on video. The officer underwent additional training on use of force and then was promoted to sergeant later that year.

"This practice of looking the other way, failing to take corrective action, and failing to impose additional training and supervision in the face of numerous and grievous violations of citizens' Constitutional rights throughout the last several years directly paved the way for the attack on Ms. McMillan," her complaint states.

Last week, the town was served with the lawsuit filed in the U.S. federal court in the Northern District of New York on May 24. It will handle the litigation internally.

"I can state that the town fully supports the actions of its officers in responding to a difficult situation," Town Attorney Magguilli said in a statement Monday. "Consequently, the town intends to defend this action vigorously and to the full extent of law."