Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Mom After Cops Tore Baby From Her Arms
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New York State Attorney General-elect Letitia James (left) and Brooklyn Defender Services Founder and Executive Director Lisa Schreibersdorf. Eagle photo by Christina Carrega
By Christina Carrega
Charges against a Brooklyn mother, who had her baby boy ripped from her arms by NYPD officers when she refused to leave a government office, were dropped Tuesday.
Jazmine Headley, 23, was remanded to Rikers Island on Friday shortly after her arrest on a warrant hold from Mercer County’s District Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
After a witness captured the chaotic incident on a cellphone video and posted it on Facebook, the video went viral on social media and was widely disseminated by news outlets. In the five days since Headley’s arrest, officials from across the city called for her release.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez released a statement announcing that he would drop the charges against Headley.
“Continuing to pursue that case will not serve any purpose and I therefore move to dismiss it immediately in the interest of justice,” Gonzalez said in the statement. “Discretion is the better part of valor and we must be thoughtful and compassionate in evaluating the merit of our case.”
However, even as DA Gonzalez dismissed the resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration charges, Headley still faces the indictment in New Jersey.
In March 2017, Headley was indicted for two counts of third-degree credit card theft and fourth-degree trafficking in personal identifying information charges.
She was also arrested in July 2016 along with two others for using counterfeit credit cards in Lawrence Township, N.J.
Headley did not show up for her July 2017 arraignment following the indictment, according to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County District Attorney.
Headley’s attorney, Scott Hechinger with the Brooklyn Defender Services, is expected to file an emergency motion in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday requesting to release his client.
“If the judge does not grant this application, [Headley] is scheduled to be transferred to New Jersey tomorrow,” wrote Lisa Schreibersdorf, the executive director and founder of BDS, in a statement.
Headley's 1-year-old son is in the custody of her grandmother and is recovering from what Schreibersdorf called "lingering bruising." A GoFundMe campaign that the attorney service launched on Tuesday morning on behalf of Headley’s family had raised more than $16,000 of a $20,000 goal to help pay for childcare as of press time Tuesday afternoon.
Headley is not expected to appear in Brooklyn Supreme Court for the last-minute hearing.
A GoFundMe that the attorney service launched on Tuesday morning on behalf of Headley’s family has raised over $16,000 of a $20,000 goal for help towards child care.
