May 18, 2009 7:25 pm US/Eastern
Family Of Grandmother, 71, Claims Police Brutality
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The family of a 71-year-old grandmother is making a police brutality claim, saying she was hurt when she was knocked down by officers inside a Queens stationhouse.
The woman is now at Jamaica Hospital, undergoing surgery for a broken hip.
Last Wednesday evening at the 107th Precinct in Queens, a group of parents, their teenage daughters, and one grandmother – Elizabeth Gorden – showed up to find out why a man they say slapped one of the girls near a bus stop wasn't arrested.
What happened next inside the precinct depends on which side you believe. Gorden's family says the police are responsible for her being at Jamaica Hospital with injuries that include a fractured hip.
"I did witness a group of police officers come out of nowhere and just pounce my mother to the ground," daughter Sharon Gorden says.
So the parents, the grandmother, and some of the kids go to the 107th precinct to find out about the man who had the encounter with their children. After that, the stories diverge dramatically – either there was a melee and police were pushed and shoved, or it was the police who were doing the pushing and the shoving.
The bottom line, though, is that 71-year-old grandmother Elizabeth Gorden fell and got hurt.
Gorden's family says she's having surgery Monday for the fractured hip.
Police say Elizabeth Gorden took a swing at an officer and missed. Gorden was given a desk appearance ticket and charged with obstructing governmental administration.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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