Harlem Grandma Held At Gunpoint By Cops Hunting For Drugs: Suit

NEW YORK CITY — An East Harlem grandmother says she and her 9-year-old grandson were kept in a bathroom for five hours as cops searched her home on a warrant they would not let her see, court records show.

Keesha Erby filed suit Tuesday in Manhattan's supreme civil court against the city and the NYPD, whom she accuses of breaking into her home and holding her at gunpoint, records show.

"[Erby] was put in fear for [her grandson's] safety," the suit contends. "[She] was deprived of her Constitutional rights and has suffered mental anguish, together with shock, fright, apprehension, embarrassment and humiliation."

It was about 5 a.m. the evening of Nov. 20 when Erby heard drilling and then the large "boom" of Manhattan North Narcotics Unit officers breaking through her front door, the suit contends.

A swarm of officers in body armor rushed into her home and NYPD Detective Patrick Daly allegedly put a gun to Erby's head and told her to lie on the ground, the lawsuit contends.

Erby's first thoughts were for her grandson, according to the suit. She warned the cops the 9-year-old boy, asleep in his bed, was tall for his age.

The Manhattan North's narcotics officers pulled the boy out bed, handcuffed his grandmother and led the pair into the bathroom, the suit contends.

"NYPD officers also informed [Erby] they had a warrant for the search," the lawsuit states. "But [they] refused to allow [Erby] to see or examine it despite her request to do so."

Erby sat on the toilet, with her grandson on her lap, for about five hours, the suit contends.

At one point, Daly threatened to take away Erby's grandson's school laptop and tablet — which he would need for remote learning in place in city schools at the time — unless he was shown what was in the boy's cellphone, the suit contends.

None of the officers wore masks, which concerned Erby because her brother had died from COVID-19 about seven months before, the suit contends.

When Erby asked the cops to cover their mouths and noses, "Officers mocked [her] by stating that they were, in sum and substance, 'invincible,'" the suit states.

It was in Erby's dead brother's bedroom, which she had not entered since his death, that the officers found the drugs for which she would be arrested, according to the suit.

Hours later, Erby was arraigned on charges of possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment in Manhattan Criminal Court, the complaint states.

"She denied then, as she does now, ever possessing a controlled substance on her person or in her apartment," the lawsuit reads.

Erby's case was dismissed and sealed on June 3, according to the complaint.

The grandmother's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Civil Court, accuses the city and the NYPD of assault and false arrest, among other charges, court papers show.

The city's Law Department did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment and NYPD spokesperson Sergeant Ed Riley said via email, "We will review the lawsuit if and when we are served."