NYC paid $120,000 to settle police misconduct allegations against now-GOP candidate Alison Esposito

In her bid to unseat Pat Ryan from the 18th Congressional District, Republican Alison Esposito has touted her 25 years of experience in the New York City Police Department as proof she has what it takes to “restore law and order.” Before wading into politics, she rose up to the ranks of deputy inspector and commanding officer of the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn. But as the summer of George Floyd raged after his murder by police in 2020, Esposito grew frustrated by the large and sometimes violent protests she and her officers patrolled.

“I looked at the seat I was sitting in, and I looked at the hat I was wearing, and I realized I was sitting in the wrong seat and wearing the wrong hat to effect the change that New York needed,” Esposito said in a recent podcast appearance.

While she was still in that seat and wearing that hat, though, her misconduct record cost New York City taxpayers $120,000. Twice in Esposito’s career, the city settled lawsuits and paid people who alleged that Esposito had treated them unlawfully. In 2005, Esposito was sued by three Black women who accused her and other NYPD officers of violating their civil rights by wrongfully arresting them on suspicion of shoplifting. The city ultimately settled the case for $95,000. In 2017, Esposito was sued for allegedly arresting and assaulting an infant. The city paid the infant’s mother a $25,000 settlement.

Ben Weiner, a spokesperson for Esposito’s campaign, denied the allegations in the lawsuits and defended her NYPD record. “When criminals legally and lawfully are brought to justice, they often seek to scapegoat law enforcement via the courts and the city of New York is frequently forced to settle frivolous and baseless lawsuits in order to avoid costly litigation,” Weiner told City & State.

The city’s Law Department did not respond to a request for comment about the settlements. When asked about Esposito, the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information’s office said in a statement that “the individual retired in June of 2022” and did not respond to follow-up questions.

Two settlements

In September 2003, three Black women – Kelli Williams, Diane Hodges and Markeyta Wicker – were shopping at an H&M during a trip to Manhattan with their Philadelphia church group. According to a complaint that the three women later filed against New York City, Williams spotted a purse with money hanging out of it near the register. Williams picked up the purse, said that the money looked fake, and then walked out of the store with Hodges, her aunt.

As they left the store, the two were swarmed by plain clothes police officers – including Esposito, who grabbed Williams and held her. According to the complaint, Williams told the officers that although she had touched the bag, she had not taken anything from it and had paid for everything in her own bag. The complaint states that Williams asked Esposito to let her go, but Esposito refused and instead wrapped her arm around Williams’ neck, pulling her even closer as another officer approached Williams and “stated in substance you’re going down bitch.” Esposito and another officer handcuffed Williams while other officers arrested Hodges and Wicker. The three women were charged with shoplifting, though the cases against them were later dismissed.

Williams, Hodges, and Wicker then sued New York City in federal court, alleging that “New York City police officers are encouraged to believe that they can violate the rights of persons, particularly, African-Americans like (the) plaintiffs … with impunity.” Esposito was among the officers named in the suit. The city later paid the three women a total of $95,000 to settle the case.

In 2016, Esposito and another officer entered an apartment building on East 101st Street and “did unlawfully stop, assault, frisk, handcuff, detain, arrest and imprison” an infant named Rebecca Cuevas, according to a complaint later filed by Cuevas’ mother, Chantal Vasquez. An attorney for Esposito responded to the complaint by denying the allegations, arguing that “plaintiffs’ culpable conduct caused or contributed, in whole or in part, to their injuries or damages.” But New York City ultimately settled the lawsuit for $25,000.

“Alison did not detain or stop, question and frisk an infant. She proudly served the NYPD for over two decades,” said Weiner, the Esposito campaign spokesperson.

It’s not uncommon for police officers to accrue a list of formal complaints throughout their career. Esposito received eight complaints through the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, though none of those were substantiated. On Aug. 12, Politico reported that Esposito was reprimanded by her superiors in the NYPD after she left her gun and badge in an unlocked car and they were stolen.

Esposito is the second Republican congressional candidate whose NYPD record has recently come under scrutiny. Last month, the Daily News published an investigation into Long Island Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, noting that while he worked at the 73rd Precinct and moonlit as a bartender, he was “‘known for flashing his gun around’ and ‘being reckless.’”

Swing district

The 18th Congressional District stretches across Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania border with New York in the southwest and the Massachusetts and Connecticut borders in the northeast portion of the district and includes Kingston, West Point and Poughkeepsie. Last cycle, it was the sole Hudson Valley district that Republicans did not win, despite Reps. Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler’s victories in adjacent districts. While Ryan eked out a victory last cycle over Assembly Member Colin Schmitt, Esposito ran as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. Though she and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin ultimately lost to Kathy Hochul and Antonio Delgado, the duo did better than many expected.

So when it came time to coalesce behind a candidate with political appeal among upstate voters, Esposito’s experience in the NYPD seemed like the perfect fit for a party whose top issues are the number of migrants who have come to New York in recent years and urban crime. In July, the National Republican Congressional Committee designated Esposito one of its “Young Guns” – challengers to incumbent Democrats who are best positioned to grow Republicans’ House majority.

Esposito has struggled to keep up with Ryan’s fundraising, as have other Hudson Valley Republicans. His war chest is brimming with more than $3 million, while hers has under $730,000. She has continued to talk about crime and immigration in New York City, hoping to convince voters that things are even worse than 2022, when she was close to persuading enough voters to elect her lieutenant governor.

“I came from a world of CompStat and statistics and numbers, but what you don’t understand is every statistic is a victim,” Esposito said in April 2023 on Fox News. “Every victim has a family. Every family hurts. And crime has a ripple effect through our city, through our state, through our communities.”