A Nassau County police officer has come under fire. The officer has been accused of sexually abusing a 27-year-old Long Island woman in the back seat of his patrol car after arresting her on drunken driving charges. Jenny Hannigan filed a lawsuit against the Nassau County officer for the incident which happened two years ago.
Hannigan says the incident happened in June 2010. She claims the officer put her in the back seat and touched her inappropriately. Hannigan then goes on to say that he texted her a few days later asking how she was feeling. Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli say his office is prepared for the case.
"The county attorney is prepared to offer a vigorous defense for Nassau County and the Police Department." Says Ciampoli. “This is not a reflection of what our officers do on a day-to-day basis."
Hannigan has also placed blame on the female officer in the car. “There wasn’t a partition that would’ve stopped her from seeing what was going on,” Hannigan said in a press conference. “I was visibly trying to make eye contact with her and felt she was purposely not paying attention.”
Hannigan filed the lawsuit monday and has accused the police department of failing to prosecute the officer on the sexual assault claims and for violating her civil rights. She filed a complaint to internal affairs but the according to the lawsuit, internal affairs found Hannigan’s claims to be undetermined. She’s seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit.
[Source: NBC]