Hi! I was going out of the Bryant Park Grill and some guy told me that I cannot go out with a beverage. I explained that it was an orange juice with ice and that there were not signs restricting bringing food and beverages in and taking out. The guy was aggressive, didn't allow me to go out to the park, took the cup with juice out of my hands spilling it on my shirt and pants and threw it away. He was very provocative, angry, smiling and asking "what are you going to do now?". The police (Cota & Tozzi) that came, said that I cannot go out to park with juice because "no restaurant in nyc allows that and it is common sense". This sounds really incompetent and unprofessional.. When I asked police lady to write a report, she replied that they don't write "laundry reports" or something like that, although I wanted to report illegal actions of the employees of that restaurant although I don't know if they were employees, they didn't have any badges, were wearing casual and didn't introduce themselves. Is there anything I can do in this case? I had to go to the other side of the park where on my questions "can I take my juice out to the park and street" they said "sure, of'course you are".What should I do in this case? Can I treat it as a theft, harrasment, damage of property and racial hatred?Also, is it possible to report those unprofessional and incompetent police (man & lady)? I don't feel secure.
Thank you for the post, I am happy to assist you by answering your questions. From your description you have a claim for harassment against the restaurant for the actions of its agent in aggressively taking the container from you. It would be difficult to take any action against the police in this situation as no crime was actually committed and you were not physically threatened or assaulted. The police do not have to make one feel secure per so, they do however have to reasonably enforce the law, and this is why it would be difficult to sue the police (no law was broken). You should however retain counsel to send the restaurant a demand letter for compensatory damages on your behalf.Please let me know if you need additional guidance or have any follow up questions.
the problem is not in aggressively taking the container from me but in the fact that that demand was illegal by itself and the police refused to report that illegal action. The guy actually threatened and assaulted me, I just didn't respond. Is making an illegal intentional aggressive action in explicitly provocative way that damages others property and affects physical and emotional condition not an assault?
Thank you for the additional information Kirill, what threat was made? (Please quote if you can recall specifically what was said)
verbally just "what? what are you going to do now?" He was staying very close to me moving as I move and the body language was quite obvious. I have a meeting tomorrow so I didn't want to fight although I think I had all rights for that.
Thank you, XXXXX XXXXX not be construed as a threat however, it is indeed a provocation but not a threat as the person did not state any intent to initiate bodily contact or cause you harm, but more so dared you to do something (hence the harassment claim).If you would have struck him, you likely would have been arrested for assault because you would seen as the aggressor at that point. Please let me know if you need additional guidance or have any follow up questions.
Btw, he touched my hand when he was taking my cup away. And what about my juice they refused to reimburse, and my clothes I sent to laundry? Also do you know which forms I should file to report all that?
Your claim would encompass the replacement costs for your juice and the cost to clean your shirt. Because this is a small claims suit the forms may be online. If you tell me where the restaurant is located, I may be able to find the forms for you.