Pouch Leads to Arrest

Did anyone hear about the student that spent the night in jail for bringing her miniature poddle into the Bay Ridge subway station? Icelyn Garcia, 25 claims she was wrongfully arrested after she carried her pooch, Louie, into the 86 Street station on the R line. Apparently, she had her bags in one hand, and Louie tucked under her other arm. Garcia, who was with her 19-year-old cousin, said she was confronted by Officer Jessica Gavaras, who told her that she had to put the dog into a carrying case. Garcia said she pleaded with the cop not to give her a ticket and had her cousin take the dog out of the station. But Gavaras refused to let her off the hook, she said. According to Garcia, the cop held on to her ID for what seemed like an eternity, but made no effort to write her a ticket. Garcia then pulled out her cellphone, she said, setting off a tug-of-war. The officer snatched the phone out of her hand, Garcia said, and she grabbed it right back. "I went to look at the time [on the phone] and she got really upset," Garcia said. The two struggled in the station over the phone and the officer slapped the cuffs on her. The student was charged with disorderly conduct, and spent the night in Central Booking, doing her best to avoid the dirty looks from the other ladies in lockup. "This was the worst night of my life. A prostitute offered me a job, there were women in there hiding drugs in their private parts, and people were fighting," she said.

Here's the kicker though...THE CHARGE WAS LATER DISMISSED! "I was embarrassed. I was humiliated," she said. "It wasn't right. [Gavaras'] reaction was over-exaggerated." So Garcia is doing what most Americans would do...she suing. Garcia filed suit yesterday in Brooklyn federal court seeking unspecified monetary damages. The NYPD refused to comment so right now all we have is Garcia's side of the story. I would also like to note that Garcia has no priors to this. But, if what she states is true, hell even if its only 75% she certainly deserves a settlement. First of all, she was not placed under arrest so the cop had no right to snatch her phone. Second, is she trying to teach her a lesson by having her spend the night in jail and then simply dropping the charges and saying, "Okay you can go home have a nice day now..." In a city like New York the cops have a lot more to worry about then a cute little dog being brought on a subway.

SOUNDOFF: DO YOU THINK GARCIA DESERVED TO BE ARRESTED?