Simpson v. City of New York, No. 14-680 (2d Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff filed suit against a police officer under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and New York State law for false arrest. The officer arrested plaintiff for theft of services after she rebuffed his flirtatious advances, entered the back door of the bus she was intending to ride because the driver could not fix the stuck lift at the front entrance and told passengers to enter through the rear. When she was in line to swipe her MetroCard, the officer intercepted her and made her get off the bus. On appeal, plaintiff challenged portions of the district court's summary judgment order in favor of the officer on the false arrest claims. The court concluded that there is a genuine issue for a jury as to whether a reasonable officer in this officer's position could have had reasonable grounds to believe that she intended to commit, or was committing, theft of services and whether the officer had probable cause to arrest or reasonably hold the mistaken belief that he did. Therefore, the officer is not entitled to summary judgment on either the section 1983 or state law false arrest claims. Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded.
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