Nassau Woman Sues Police, Alleging Racial Bias In False Arrest

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — A Massapequa woman filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Nassau County and the Nassau County Police Department, alleging she was arrested and strip-searched for no reason.

Tivia Leith is suing the county, Nassau and state police, and individual officers for $30 million, alleging they violated her civil rights. The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, claims her treatment is part of a pattern of racial profiling by Nassau County police.

According to the lawsuit, Leith was driving on Sunrise Highway in Bellmore around 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2021, when she was pulled over by a Nassau County police officer. Leith says she was not speeding as she was stuck in rush-hour traffic, and she had her seatbelt on.

The officer did not tell Leith why she was pulled over, the lawsuit says. After taking her identification, he came back a few minutes later and told her she was under arrest because of an open New York State warrant. However, the lawsuit said that Leith had no such open warrant.

Leith was taken out of her car, handcuffed and arrested in front of her 9-year-old son, the lawsuit says. She was taken to the First Precinct station house in Baldwin, where she was subjected to an invasive strip search, the lawsuit said.

After hours in NCPD custody, Leith was turned over to the New York State Police and taken to its headquarters in Farmingdale. She was held there for several more hours before she was released. Before she was turned over, the NCPD issued her two tickets, neither of which had been spoken about during her time in custody, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Leith previously had an open warrant for DWI, but it was closed in Nov. 2021. Leith paid her fines and attended an alcohol treatment program, as ordered by a judge, it said.

The lawsuit alleges that Leith's arrest is part of a pattern by the Nassau County Police Department. Arrest data shows that Black residents are arrested at much higher rates than white residents, despite making up a smaller part of the county's population.

Leith says the police denied her of her rights, and also caused lasting emotional harm to both her and her son.

The Nassau County Police Department declined to comment due to the pending litigation.