Mother of 2-year-old killed speaks out for 1st time about suing the NYPD for $60 million
Carroll was outside the 40th Precinct Friday to announce that she and her mother will be suing the NYPD for $60 million.
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Cierra Carroll, the mother of Montrell Williams, the 2-year-old boy who was found in the East River in June, says she is suing the NYPD for the wrongful death of her son.
Carroll was outside the 40th Precinct Friday to announce that she and her mother will be suing the NYPD for $60 million.
“This precinct has failed this family, has failed Montrell," said the Reverend Kevin McCall.
A complaint was filed Thursday against the NYPD, the city, as well as "unidentified officers." It's the first step in the legal process before a lawsuit. The complaint spells out the alleged failures of the NYPD during the almost one month that Montrell was missing.
The timeline outlines the multiple times his mother says she reached out to police, including the first time on May 11, the day after his father failed to return him.
The complaint alleges the following:
"NYPD officers misclassified the call as a custody dispute, failed to initiate a missing child investigation, failed to issue an Amber Alert, and took no immediate steps to locate or safeguard Montrell."
Further allegations say Carroll provided the NYPD with evidence of the father's history of domestic disputes, prior involvement of police in domestic disputes, the father's public social media statements suggestive of guilt and the immediate and ongoing danger to the child's life and safety.
Despite this, Carroll alleges the NYPD failed to act, and only began searching for the missing 2-year-old on June 8, almost a month since the mother had seen him.
“I shouldn’t have had to chase them down in order to find a child," said Cierra Caroll, Montrell's mother.
News 12 reached out to police for a statement and a spokesperson for the department said in an email that it will "review the lawsuit if and when it is filed."
Montrell's father, Arius Williams, is facing multiple charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree manslaughter. He's due back in court in October.
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