An off-duty female transit officer revealed today how she was left topless in a busy New York street after an altercation with a male motorist turned physical.
Michelle Anglin, 40, appeared before Bronx Criminal Court, charged with felony assault and misconduct over a 2008 physical fight with Marlon Smith, 35.
She and fellow off-duty transit cop Koleen Robinson, 24 are accused of attacking Mr Smith with pepper spray and a police baton, as well as pistol-whipping him with the butt of a handgun.
But Anglin pleading self-defence today, often in tears as she told a different story – one where she was in fact the victim, left dazed and vulnerable in the middle of the road.
The court has heard that the dispute began on August 16, 2008, when Anglin and Robinson yelled out to Smith about his open car door.
One of the pair told Smith to ‘close your f***ing door’, and he responded – calling the pair ‘blood clots’ and ‘f***ing b****es’.
As the fight escalated, Anglin admits that pepper spray, their fists, batons and the butt of a handgun was used on Mr Smith.
But Anglin also told court today that Smith knocked her to the ground and was, at one point, straddling her and tearing at her top and bra.
The single mother said: ‘I was confused. I didn’t know what to do or say. I was humiliated because I am supposed to be a police officer and I couldn’t handle myself.
‘My shirt was totally ripped off and my bra was ripped off.
‘I was on White Plains Road with my breasts out. I shop in that area. The cab drivers and all those men saw me with my breasts out.
Both officers are also facing misconduct charges because they failed to immediately inform superiors of the altercation
The New York Post has reported that Smith, a father of five with past arrests for domestic violence and pot busts, needed 25 stitches to close the gashes in his forehead.
He has filed a civil suit against the NYPD for $25 million.
