On the afternoon of Oct. 15, Heather Carpenter walked into a Citibank branch in Greenwich Village and closed her account as a form of protest against bank fees.

The closing was part of a campaign promoted by Occupy Wall Street, and as Ms. Carpenter left police officers were arriving at the branch, where about 20 protesters had gathered inside to air grievances against Citibank.

A moment later, as she stood outside the bank at 555 LaGuardia Place with her fiancé, Julio Jose Jiminez-Artunduaga, police officers dragged her back inside, videotape footage shows, where she was arrested.

Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga was dragged into the bank and arrested also, photographs and video show.

They were both charged with resisting arrest and trespassing, said their lawyer, Ronald L. Kuby. Mr. Kuby said that the Manhattan District attorney’s office had announced its intention to dismiss the charges against them.

But Ms. Carpenter and her fiancé are fighting back. On Monday, they filed suit against the city; the chief of the department for the New York Police Department, Joseph J. Esposito; and four unnamed officers.

The suit, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, asserts that the police falsely arrested Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga and used excessive force against them in violation of their rights under the Fourth and 14th Amendments.

“The conduct of the defendant officers in restraining, arresting and imprisoning plaintiffs was totally without probable cause and was done maliciously, falsely and in bad faith,” the suit states, adding: “It was the defendants who dragged them into the bank — the premises upon which they had allegedly trespassed — to arrest them.”

The officers named in the suit, referred to as “police officers John Doe 1-4,” participated in the arrests of Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga, Mr. Kuby said. Also named is Chief Esposito, the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Police Department, who was present during the arrests and who, the suit said, “failed to remedy the wrongs committed by the police officers.”

The head spokesman for the Police Department, Paul J. Browne, said that Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga had falsely claimed not to be involved in the protest.

“Both individuals were observed early on disrupting business inside the bank, and then slipping outside as arrests were underway, claiming falsely they were not engaged in the disruption,” he wrote in an e-mail. “While still inside the bank, they were told to leave by bank personnel and did not. In fact, the male can be seen on a separate Youtube video videotaping, and at one point going behind the bank’s customer service desk to do so.”

The city’s Law Department said it would review Ms. Carpenter’s suit after it was served with the complaint.

Both of the plaintiffs were held for about 30 hours, the complaint by Mr. Kuby said. Ms. Carpenter’s wrists were injured by tight handcuffs and Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga suffered a lacerated finger said the complaint, which included several photographs and videos.

One video (see above) shows protesters milling inside the bank lobby apparently after being prevented from leaving. As protesters outside watched, the video shows, a man in a dark sweatshirt approached Ms. Carpenter and told her “You were inside.” Ms. Carpenter responded “I am a customer” and held up a piece of paper. Then, the man grabbed her and, assisted by several uniformed police officers, forced her back into the bank lobby.

Another video (see above) shows Chief Esposito entering he bank lobby, where the protesters had been held by plainclothed men and announcing that those in the bank were under arrest. A moment later, as several officers forced Mr. Jimenez-Artunduaga into the bank, one protester said “They’re dragging them in.”

“Don’t get involved in it,” Chief Esposito replied. “You’re a different group.”



