Mt. Vernon Settles False-Arrest Suit

The city of Mount Vernon must pay $36,000 to a diabetic man who alleged he had been detained by police for two days and denied his insulin and did not charge him with any crime.

The Board of Estimate and Contract voted to approve the settlement agreement with Mount Vernon resident David Lewis, who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city. The alleged incident occurred on Feb. 7, 2009, when police detained Lewis for about 48 hours from Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon.  The court filings indicate that police released Lewis and told him that his detention had been a mistake.

Lewis was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by an unmarked police car. Other uniformed officers arrived and searched the vehicle for drugs.

Police later arrested Lewis on a warrant for unpaid child support which, Lewis claimed in his court papers, had been paid.

The complaint, filed in the Federal District Court in White Plains, accused the police and the city of false imprisonment, deliberate indifference to his medical needs, assault and negligence.