Pa. Woman Files Claim Over Wrongful Arrest by NYPD

NEW YORK (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman said she was mistakenly arrested during a December shopping trip to New York, and her
3-year-old daughter was taken into child custody for three days during the ordeal.

"It was traumatizing,'' said Margarita Santiago, 28, who said she was handcuffed in front of her daughter after police ran her name through their computer system and turned up a bench warrant for an East Harlem resident named Margarita Santelises.

Santiago filed a notice of claim against the city Wednesday, the first step required before suing a public agency.

"The police officer did not want to hear from my client the fact that she was not Margarita Santelises and that my client had not lived in New York City since she was 6 years old,'' said Santiago's lawyer, Eric Rothstein.

Santiago, of Chester, Pa., and her daughter, Mikhaila Santiago-Harper, were in Manhattan on Dec. 8 when a friend who was driving them, Manuel Encarnacion, was pulled over by police at around 10:30 p.m.

The police asked for Santiago's identification, ran her Pennsylvania license through their system and arrested her.

Mikhaila was turned over to the city's Administration for Children's Services and was placed with a family.

Santiago appeared in court the next day and showed the judge her ID, and the matter was dropped, Rothstein said.

But she was not reunited with Mikhaila until the morning of Dec. 12.

"She didn't know where her daughter was for three full days and part of two other days, and of course her daughter had no idea where Mommy was and wanted to know why Mommy had been arrested and when would she see Mommy again,'' Rothstein said.

Santiago, who clutched Mikhaila's hand during a news conference at Rothstein's office, said the experience was traumatic for the little girl.

"I get behind the wheel, and if a police officer's vehicle is behind us, she panics,'' Santiago said. "She thinks that she's going to be taken away from me again.''

The notice of claim names New York City, the Police Department, the arresting officer and the Administration for Children's Services.

ACS referred calls to the city's law department. Connie Pankratz, a spokeswoman for the law department, said city lawyers had not yet received the legal papers but would review them thoroughly upon receipt.

The Police Department did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Rothstein said that if the city did not settle the claim he would file a lawsuit. He declined to say how much money Santiago was seeking from the city.

Encarnacion, the friend who was pulled over, was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and endangering the welfare of a child. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he missed a court date.

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