MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK — On November 21, 2020, attorney Lauren P. Raysor held a press conference in front of the Law Offices of Lauren P. Raysor to announce that she has filed a complaint on behalf of Gordon Tarrant, a Mount Vernon resident who claims he was falsely arrested for sale and possession of drugs. The defendants named in this case include the City of Mount Vernon and Westchester County Police Departments and members of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and Mount Vernon Police Officer Carmelo Antonini.
(Photo Courtesy of Black Westchester)
On the morning of April 26, 2018, Mr. Tarrant was in his Mount Vernon apartment when he heard a loud pounding at the door. He looked out the window and saw officers from the Mount Vernon and Westchester County Police Departments. They identified themselves as “parole, probation and pardon services.” As he answered the door, officers told him to drop the phone, threw him against the wall and handcuffed him. Mr. Tarrant asked about a warrant for his arrest, but it was never produced.
After being searched twice, Mr. Tarrant was transported to the Mount Vernon Police Station and booked on charges of Bail Jumping in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree. The charges were dismissed by the DA’s office.
The Plaintiff is seeking damages resulting from violations of his rights to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure; violation of his rights to Due Process of Law; violation of his New York State constitutional rights; physical pain and suffering; emotional trauma and suffering, including fear, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, frustration, extreme inconvenience and anxiety; and loss of liberty.
“Police Officer Antonini, among others, and the Westchester County Police Department, together with the Westchester County District Attorney’s office, conspired to imprison a man and violate his civil and constitutional rights,” Ms. Raysor said. “The officers and the DA’s office need to be held responsible for this miscarriage of justice.”
For more information, call (914) 733-8080 or visit www.laurenpraysor.com.
###
About Lauren P. Raysor
Lauren P. Raysor is an attorney concentrating in personal injury, civil rights, bankruptcy, matrimonial and family law. She has litigated numerous cases over the years, taking more than 35 cases to verdict and has argued before the Appellate Division in the case of Makeda Barnes Joseph v. Universal Music Group. She served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Mount Vernon, where she was in charge of the city’s Law Department. Ms. Raysor is currently outside counsel for the New York State Dormitory Authority, and served as the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Upper Manhattan Region, outside counsel to the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and counsel at a Wall Street law firm.
