While my original 10 page complaint against the NYPD was sufficient to get my foot in the door, my new 15 page, 56 count complaint should light a fire under the city’s ass for sure.
The biggest challenge in suing the government (any government) as far as writing the complaint is naming the correct parties. For some claims, you need to name the city, and others, the official him/herself. Complaints the TSA are even more complex, as sometimes you need to name the TSA, sometimes the official, and other times the United States. This legal subterfuge is required even though no matter who I name, it’s the city that will pay the settlement or judgment in the end.
My NYPD case had been challenged by the fact that the city, thus far, cannot “find” the officers who illegally detained and searched me. Despite having some of the best detectives in the world, when it comes to investigating themselves, they seem to have a bit of trouble.
The problem isn’t that the case can’t move forward against the city even if they can’t find the officers, but that all of the charges that require me to name the official would be dismissed if we can’t name them, which would very much limit the suit. The solution: name the commissioner. 🙂 Ray Kelly has presided over the great expansion of the stop-and-frisk abuse, and his actions and inactions are responsible for what happened to me. As such, he’s an official I can name, and even if the four unnamed cops are dismissed from the case, the charges that require a named official may proceed against Mr. Kelly.
My amended complaint is below, and keep an eye out for my new TSA complaint coming in less than 2 weeks!
Corbett v. City of New York – First Amended Complaint with Exhibits (.pdf)
Professional Troublemaker ® 
“Despite having some of the best detectives in the world, when it comes to investigating themselves, they seem to have a bit of trouble.” Ain’t it the truth! They will hem and haw for as long as possible. They should be fired. I enjoy reading your updates — thank you!