On March 12, 2020, ECBAWM and co-counsel the Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit against the City of New York and several NYPD officers on behalf of an anonymous woman, “Jane Doe,” who was arrested and shackled when she was 40 weeks and two days pregnant. The minor charges on which Ms. Doe was arrested were ultimately dismissed.

NYPD officers forced Ms. Doe to labor alone in a holding cell at the NYPD’s 75^th Precinct in Brooklyn while they celebrated at a holiday party. When officers finally agreed to seek medical care for Ms. Doe, they handcuffed and shackled her to an ambulance gurney and hospital bed. They removed the restraints only just before Ms. Doe delivered her newborn son and replaced them almost immediately after. After her baby was transferred to the NICU, officers would not permit Ms. Doe to visit him without first shackling her legs together.

Medical experts and correctional experts unanimously agree that pregnant women should not be shackled by law enforcement absent the most extraordinary circumstances. Such extraordinary circumstances are limited to situations where a woman poses a significant risk of injury to herself or others that cannot be addressed by less restrictive means.

ECBAWM’s Katie Rosenfeld and Andrew Jondahl, along with Anne Oredeko and Anthony Posada of the Legal Aid Society, represent Ms. Doe.

Press Release
“NYPD handcuffed woman to hospital bed as she was about to give birth, says lawsuit,” New York Daily News
“New York woman was shackled to bed during childbirth, lawsuit says,” The Guardian
“Woman Sues City After NYPD Handcuffs Her During Active Labor And Immediately After Delivery,” Gothamist