Nassau, 3 officers found not liable in excessive force lawsuit
Ex-East Meadow School Board member Abby Rothschild-Kaplan is shown. Credit: Handout / Undated
Three Nassau County police officers accused of using excessive force on a former East Meadow school board member were found not liable at a federal civil trial last week, court records show.
The ex-board member, Abby Rothschild-Kaplan, accused police who responded to her home for a domestic incident on Aug. 9, 2010, of violently assaulting her without cause, then having her taken away in a police ambulance against her will and covering up their wrongdoing.
She filed suit against the officers and Nassau County in August 2011, asking for at least $5 million in damages, records show.
A verdict sheet filed Nov. 10 in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn said Rothschild-Kaplan failed to prove that the county and the officers named in the case -- Thomas Curtain, Timothy DiLena and Joseph Lobello -- committed any of the acts she accused them of.
Nassau County officials said in a statement that the jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before returning a unanimous verdict for the county and the officers on all claims.
Police had been summoned to Rothschild-Kaplan's Prospect Avenue home for the August 2010 dispute between her and husband, David Kaplan, who she said had physically abused her for years, according to the lawsuit.
Rothschild-Kaplan claimed responding officers beat her and conspired to cover up their misconduct, with one officer even closing the blinds at one point to keep people outside from witnessing the assault.
Nassau County lawyers argued Rothschild-Kaplan was uncooperative and hostile toward the officers, who handcuffed her and took her to a hospital for a psychological evaluation.
No one was arrested in the incident, police said.
Neither Abby Rothschild-Kaplan nor David Kaplan could immediately be reached for comment Saturday.
Rothschild-Kaplan's attorney, Frederick Brewington, said his client is disappointed with the verdict, but stands by the fact that she was mistreated by police.
"Whether it rises to the level of a constitutional violation is different from her being mistreated," Brewington said. "This case demonstrates the need for a civilian complaint review board [in Nassau], where citizens can have an avenue rather than having to go to court."
Rothschild-Kaplan, who won a school board position in 2007, lost a race for the spot in 2010.
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