Last week, James Rodriguez’s attorney filed a notice of claim that he plans to sue the city for $10 million, because on February 26, Rodriguez was arrested and kept in handcuffs by NYPD officers for 7 hours after having his elbow broken by a baseball bat during a bodega scuffle, the Daily News reports.
Rodriguez was heading home after work when he stopped at Santiago Deli on East 170th Street in the Bronx. He says a bodega worker tried to overcharge him for soda, and when he objected, the man pulled out a baseball bat and began swinging at Rodriguez, hitting him in the head and cracking his right elbow. The worker called the police and said Rodriguez had a gun. When the officers from the 44th Precinct arrived, they arrested Rodriguez, cuffing his arm behind his back despite his repeated pleas for medical attention. No weapon was found, but Rodriguez says he was cuffed for 7 straight hours and taunted and wasn’t able to receive treatment until he was released. He was eventually charged with criminal mischief and harassment. The Daily News doesn’t say what happened to the bodega worker who allegedly hit Rodriguez.
Rodriguez needed surgery to install plates and bolts to keep his elbow together, and owes thousands in medical bills from his hospital stay and physical therapy. Rodriguez’s attorney Scott Agulnick says that his client was subjected to “inhumane punishment” and “intentionally deprived medical attention.”
(Photo: Ewen Roberts)
