Filed Date: July 31, 2012
Closed Date: 2015
Clearinghouse coding complete
On July 31st, 2012, a resident of New York who was arrested while participating in a the Occupy Wall Street protest filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York United States District Court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the city of New York. The plaintiff, represented by private counsel, asked the court for compensatory and punitive damages, lawyers fees, and injunctive relief requiring that the city of New York create and implement a policy regarding the use of force upon persons involved in public demonstrations that conforms with federal constitutional standards and to create and implement reporting systems to record all uses of force by NYPD officers during public demonstrations on 7/31/2012. He claimed that his first, fourth, and fourteenth amendment rights were violated.
Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that he was sprayed with pepper spray by a New York City police officer while compliantly demonstrating with the Occupy Wall Street protest group. He said that the pepper spray hit his right eye and burned his face, arms, hands, and lungs. He claimed that he had to miss three days of work as a result of this incident, and still experienced some blurry vision and nervousness and increased heart rate around police officers.
On November 13th, 2012, the District Court (Judge Robert W. Sweet) consolidated this case with several others filed with regards to the same incident including Lawler v. City of New York and Elliot v. City of New York.
Following multiple settlement conferences, the parties reached a settlement agreement on July 8, 2015. The court entered the stipulation and dismissed the case on July 23, 2015, retaining jurisdiction over the matter for the purpose of enforcing the agreement for an undisclosed amount of time.
The details of the settlement are not publicly available. According to The New York Times, the defendant paid a total of $332,500 in damages (between $52,000 to $60,000 to each plaintiff). Additionally, the New York Times reported that the NYPD released a statement saying that the NYPD has not altered its pepper spray guidelines.
Summary Authors
Megan Dolan (5/27/2014)
Sean Mulloy (11/6/2017)
Elliot v. City of New York, Southern District of New York (2012)
Lawler v. City of New York, Southern District of New York (2012)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4350985/parties/crisp-v-the-city-of-new-york/
Aboushi, Aymen A. (New York)
Adams, Daniel Lloyd (New York)
Anakhu, Joy Tolulope (New York)
Anci, Joseph (New York)
Andersen, Jane Elizabeth (New York)
Adams, Daniel Lloyd (New York)
Anakhu, Joy Tolulope (New York)
Andersen, Jane Elizabeth (New York)
Aribakan, Suzanne Emily (New York)
Arko, Christopher G. (New York)
Bahrenburg, Richard (New York)
Balog, Aliza Jordana (New York)
Barker, Kami Zumbach (New York)
Barnett, Camille Danielle (New York)
Beath, Patrick Neil (New York)
Bergman, Zachary Russell (New York)
Birnbaum, Brooke Allyson (New York)
Bloom, Aaron Michael (New York)
Bouriat, Christopher Saleh (New York)
Braun, Daniel Michael (New York)
Brocker, Peter William (New York)
Brooks, Jeffrey Charles (New York)
Bruzzese, Sheryl Ann (New York)
Byrns, Katherine Abigail (New York)
Calistro, Phyllis Gail (New York)
Canfield, Donna Anne (New York)
Carpenter, Megan Burrows (New York)
Castro, Johana Vanessa (New York)
Cavalieri, Meghan Ann (New York)
Chen, Caroline Ling-Yu (New York)
Ciappetta, Nicholas R. (New York)
Cohen, Jessica Talia (New York)
Comfrey, Kathleen Marie (New York)
Cooke, Brenda Elaine (New York)
D'Andrea, Theresa Jeanine (New York)
Dawkins, Julinda A. (New York)
DeCastro, Maria Fernanda (New York)
DePaul, Philip Rudolph (New York)
Depoian, Carolyn Kay (New York)
Dervin, James Monroe (New York)
Desmond, James Finbar (New York)
Disenso, Anthony Matthew (New York)
Dole-Merson, Vivian (New York)
Dougherty, Jeffrey Anthony (New York)
Eichenholtz, Seth D. (New York)
Englert, Eviana Linnea (New York)
Fabian, Shawn David (New York)
Faddis, Hannah Victoria (New York)
Farrar, Brian Jeremy (New York)
Fett, Baree Nichole (New York)
Fitzgibbon, Kaitlin E. (New York)
Fogarty, Peter John (New York)
Francolla, Brian Christopher (New York)
Fretel, Anna Nguyen (New York)
Frommer, Hillary Ann (New York)
Fudim, Elissa Paulette (New York)
Garman, Ashley Rebecca (New York)
Gertzer, Michael Keith (New York)
Gomez-Sanchez, Daniel Sergio (New York)
Gutmann, Joseph Aaron (New York)
Haber, Erica Michelle (New York)
Haberman, Paul Stuart (New York)
Haider, Bilal Husain (New York)
Halbardier, Suzanne M. (New York)
Hanlon, Craig Andrew (New York)
Harvis, Gabriel Paul (New York)
Heer, Christopher Lee (New York)
Heim, Douglas William (New York)
Jacobs, Elissa Beth (New York)
Johnson, Paul Hasan (New York)
Joyce, Kimberly Marie (New York)
Kitzinger, Stephen Edward (New York)
Kretz, Walter Aoysius (New York)
Kruk, Carolyn Elizabeth (New York)
Larkin, Arthur Gabriel (New York)
Leist, Alexis Lucia (New York)
Lemonedes, James M. (New York)
Lichterman, Ariel Shaun (New York)
Low-Beer, John Rudolf (New York)
Lucas, Andrew Joseph (New York)
MacFarlane, Katherine Alice (New York)
Manningham, Nicholas Daniel (New York)
Marutollo, Joseph Anthony (New York)
Maxey, Brian Guenther (New York)
Mbabazi, Deborah L. (New York)
Mettham, Suzanna Publicker (New York)
Mindrutiu, Linda Margareta (New York)
Minko, Anthony James (New York)
Minnah-Donkoh, Kuuku Angate (New York)
Mitchell, Alison Sue (New York)
Moston, Rachel Kane (New York)
Murray, Diana Marsh (New York)
Muschenheim, Mark W. (New York)
Myerberg, Andrew Thomas (New York)
Neufeld, Sheryl Rebecca (New York)
Nimick, Virginia Jackson (New York)
Noble, Alexander Macrae (New York)
Okereke, Amy Nkemka (New York)
Passeser, Daniel Louis (New York)
Patrick, Bradford Collins (New York)
Pollack, David Michael (New York)
Priveterre, Joyce Diane (New York)
Profeta, Lawrence John (New York)
Pullio, Robyn Nicole (New York)
Reddy, Prathyusha Bandi (New York)
Renaghan, Sean Robert (New York)
Richards, Camiel S. (New York)
Richardson, Lisa Marie (New York)
Rivera, Suzette Corinne (New York)
Rodriguez, Wilda J. (New York)
Rosencrantz, Caryn A. (New York)
Rosenkilde, Kiran Hans (New York)
Rubin, Jennifer Lindsay (New York)
Saavedra, Daniel G. (New York)
Saint-Fort, Dominique F. (New York)
Sampale, Suvarna S. (New York)
Santiago, Leticia Joy (New York)
Scharfstein, Susan P. (New York)
Schowengerdt, John S (New York)
Schuman, Jennifer Helen (New York)
Seacord, Christopher Aaron (New York)
Shaffer, Ryan Glenn (New York)
Shammas, Cheryl Leah (New York)
Shtelmakher, Milena (New York)
Siddiqi, Omar Javed (New York)
Silverberg, Steven Mark (New York)
Silvermintz, Robyn Leigh (New York)
Singleton, Gerald E. (New York)
Siskind, Shira Rachel (New York)
Sitaras, Basil Constantine (New York)
Smith, Katherine Elizabeth (New York)
Smith, Jordan Michael (New York)
Smith-Williams, Qiana Charmaine (New York)
Speight, Melanie Mary (New York)
Sprovieri, Kathryn M (New York)
Stackhouse, Noreen M. (New York)
Stockman, Benjamin Eldridge (New York)
Tann, Sabrina Melissa (New York)
Telfort, Pernell Michael (New York)
Thadani, Kavin Suresh (New York)
Weiler, Fred Michael (New York)
Weingarten, Richard Keith (New York)
Weir, Matthew Charles (New York)
Welch, Alicia Hayley (New York)
Wells, Elizabeth A. (New York)
Wenzel, Andrew Patrick (New York)
Winslow, Lamar Devaughn (New York)
Zgodny, Vicki Becker (New York)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4350985/crisp-v-the-city-of-new-york/
Last updated April 8, 2025, 11:59 a.m.
State / Territory: New York
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 31, 2012
Closing Date: 2015
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Resident of New York City arrested while participating in Occupy Wall Street.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
The City of New York (New York City), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: $332,500
Order Duration: 2015 - None
Issues
General/Misc.:
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Over/Unlawful Detention (facilities)
Policing: