A nine-month-pregnant woman was arrested on a low-level drug charge and remained in NYPD custody until giving birth in a Brooklyn arraignment court. Advocates said the arrest should have been handled with a desk appearance ticket, the district attorney should have declined prosecution, and the arraignment judge should have dismissed the case. They also said the Office of Court Administration allowed arraignments to operate without medical staff in the courthouse. A court officer assisted the delivery before EMS arrived about 15 minutes later. The woman had been discharged from Coney Island Hospital earlier despite being in police custody. Advocates cited other deaths while awaiting arraignment and demanded investigations and legislative changes to restrict restraining pregnant people in custody.
"Public defenders, legal advocates and lawmakers say a cascade of failures across multiple city and state agencies led to a woman giving birth in a Brooklyn arraignment court Friday night. They argued that the NYPD arrested Samantha Randazzo on a low-level drug charge that should have been resolved with a desk appearance ticket, that the Brooklyn district attorney's office should have declined to prosecute, that the arraignment judge should have dismissed the case, and that the Office of Court Administration should never have allowed arraignments to operate without medical staff in the courthouse."
"Randazzo, 33, who was nine months pregnant, gave birth to a boy around 11:50 p.m. while in NYPD custody. Public defenders and legal advocates said she remained restrained during parts of the ordeal, though court officials disputed whether she was still handcuffed at the time of the birth. A court officer, not a doctor or paramedic, assisted with the delivery before EMS arrived. EMS arrived about 15 minutes later, according to court officials."
"Hours earlier, Randazzo had been discharged from Coney Island Hospital despite being in NYPD custody and in the final weeks of her pregnancy. It was the latest incident involving people in custody awaiting arraignment. Three people have died while in custody awaiting arraignment this year, according to public defenders and advocates rallying outside the courthouse Monday. The NYPD issues desk appearance tickets at about half the rate of other police departments in New York state, according to court data, which means more people have to show up and wait for backed-up courts."
"Public defenders are demanding investigations of the NYPD, the Brooklyn district attorney, OCA, and NYC Health and Hospitals. The Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, UAW Local 2325, rallied outside the courthouse Monday afternoon. And state legislators are pushing a bill that would prohibit restraining pregnant people in custody."
Read at Gothamist
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