Man Cuffed For Photographing Maskless Cops Files Federal Suit

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A Queens man detained by Department of Homeless Services police for photographing their maskless faces is now suing the city in federal court, court records show.

Anshuman Bhatia, of Long Island City, filed a false arrest lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court Sunday, about one year after Patch published exclusive video of an encounter the Department of Social Services described as "an absolutely unacceptable abuse of authority and breach of trust."

The lawsuit accuses officers Joseph Coye and Ian Bourne of violating the state mask mandate and Bhatia's constitutional right to film them, then lying in official documents to cover up alleged misconduct.

"Defendants’ unlawful conduct was willful, malicious, oppressive, and/or reckless," the suit contends. "Mr. Bhatia has experienced increased fear and worry about his interactions with police, among other injuries."

Bhatia's federal suit seeks damages and a declaratory judgment stating the city and three officers violated his rights.

The lawsuit was filed just weeks after the city agreed to a $14,000 settlement of Bhatia's case in Manhattan Supreme Court but denied any wrongdoing, legal records show.

A Law Office spokesperson said the office would review the suit.

Bhatia's face-off against the maskless officers began outside a hotel at 23-15 39th Ave. on July 12, 2020, when he stopped to photograph Coye disobeying the state mask mandate, he told Patch.

While the officers later testified Bhatia hurled insults and physically threatened the officers, surveillance footage obtained by Patch later disproved their accounts.

Coye told Bhatia he was not allowed to photograph him — which is incorrect, taking pictures and collecting film of public spaces is a constitutional right — and stopped him from walking away, according to the complaint.

Coye and Bourne then handcuffed Bhatia and pulled him inside the hotel, according to the complaint, surveillance footage and Bhatia's account of the encounter.

Lieutenant Robert Diaz, the two officers' supervisor, assisted Coye as Bhatia was searched and his leg was cuffed to a bench, according to the complaint.

When Bhatia asked why he was being detained, one officer said, "You will be held as long as we want," he later recalled.

Footage shows the holding cell where an officer removing Bhatia's face mask in an attempt to unlock his phone with facial recognition.

"That was my big wake-up call in terms of what was happening to me in that sort of mini jail cell," Bhatia told Patch at the time.

Coye also allegedly taunted Bhatia, asking why he would photograph men when "there were so many attractive women out there," according to the suit.

The officers released Bhatia after 35 minutes with a harassment summons, later rescinded, in which the officers falsely swore they'd been threatened, according to the lawsuit.

Among allegations Homeless Services ruled to be false was that Bhatia had physically attacked the officers and screamed, “F--- you wear your mask I hate Trump,” the lawsuit notes.

Those false claims were repeated in official reports submitted to the Department of Homeless Services by Coye, Bourne, and Diaz, the suit contends.

Coye agreed to resign in a settlement with Homeless Services reached in March 2021 and Bourne had his first disciplinary hearing in April, the lawsuit contends.

Diaz has not faced charges despite an internal Homeless Services review that found he detained Bhatia without authorization and failed to conduct a proper investigation, the suit contends.

None of the three men has been charged with a crime, court records show.

The Department of Homeless Services did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment and the Queens District Attorney's office declined to comment.

Patch did not immediately receive replies to requests for interviews with either Bhatia and Oliver, but in 2020, Bhatia explained to Patch why he stopped to film the two officers.

"An important job of citizens is to monitor and check government," Bhatia told Patch in 2020."The more we can do that and draw attention to government overstepping their authority is really important."