Queens Woman Files $5 Million Suit Against NYPD and City After Cabbie Takes Her For A Ride

A Queens woman said she was thrown in jail for almost a day after a cabdriver tried to flee police with her in the backseat.

According to the NY Post, Enid Dunlap, 53, said she took nine bags of clothes to a laundry place back in February 2012. It was 2 a.m., which she claims is the best time to visit the laundromat.

“You have access to all the machines you want,” Dunlap explained.

The Laurelton resident was picked up by a cab driver, who agreed to take her to an ATM on her way home so she could pay for the ride.

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As the driver pulled into a gas station, she heard the siren of a police car behind them. Instead of stopping, Dunlap said, the driver sped away.

“He wouldn’t stop,” Dunlap said of the driver. “He was running [traffic] lights. I was screaming, ‘What’s the matter with you? Just stop the car!’ ”

Dunlap said she threw open her car door, which finally made the driver halt the vehicle. He then got out and ran, leaving Dunlap behind.

“I was standing in the street in the middle of the night,” she said.

Dunlap says she waited for police to arrive, maybe 20 or 30 minutes later. Instead of offering her a ride, however, she was put in handcuffs.

Unwilling to believe Dunlap did not know the driver, police allegedly hauled her in for questioning. “They said, ‘Where’s the guy?’ And I said, ‘I have no idea!’ ” Dunlap said. “I said, ‘I waited for the officer, so why are you handcuffing me?’”

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Dunlap claims she was tossed in jail for nearly 24 hours without being charged with a crime. She filed a $5 million lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court against the NYPD and the city of New York.

“When they finally let me go, they were apologizing,” she said. “I used to have a lot of faith in the NYPD. I think they need to be retrained. How they assess things — it’s just scary. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“She’s a sweet, older, church-going woman — not exactly your normal denizen of the jail cells,” her lawyer, Robert Tolchin, said.

A Law Department spokeswoman told The Post the city will review her claim when it receives the court papers.

Sources: NY Post

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