An African American woman in New York City could spend a year in prison for allegedly assaulting an officer after being dragged from her apartment and left naked in a public hallway by a dozen “rookie” officers.
Denise Stewart, 50, is on trial in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges of assaulting an officer in July 2014 when they attempted to arrest her on charges of beating her child.
Stewart’s 12-year-old daughter said her mother and older sister beat her in the head with a belt, according to the criminal complaint.
“All of this happened during the course of a training exercise involving rookies with little or no experience who were out and about looking for hands-on experience,” Stewart’s attorney, Amy Rameau, said Wednesday during her opening arguments.
Police were called to Stewart’s apartment building for a separate incident when a noise was heard from her door, said Rameau. The officers knocked on her door and demanded entry.
Stewart,…