PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sasha Myrie, Mother and Advocate
4:41:36
·
7 min
Sasha Myrie, a mother and advocate, shares a harrowing personal experience of calling 911 for her daughter's mental health crisis, which resulted in traumatic police intervention and legal consequences. She details the excessive force used, violations of her daughter's rights, and the subsequent struggles within the criminal justice system.
- Myrie's daughter faced a felony assault charge, which was eventually resolved with an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal) after over a year of legal battles.
- The testimony highlights issues of police brutality, lack of proper mental health crisis response, and the traumatic impact on both the individual in crisis and their family.
- Myrie emphasizes the need for reform in how mental health crises are handled, pointing out that fear of calling 911 is preventing people from seeking help during emergencies.
Sasha Myrie
4:41:36
Good afternoon, everyone.
4:41:37
My name is Sasha Myri.
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I am a mother and an advocate for my daughter who's sitting beside me, and I'm a New York City resident.
4:41:46
I'm also a civil servant.
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I also work with the vulnerable population.
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And I also live with someone who needs my support.
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And on June 18 2023, at 11:43 PM, I made a 911 call for a mental crisis in which my daughter was experiencing.
4:42:09
She was attempting suicide.
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I made the call for help.
4:42:13
A call that I will always live to regret.
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At 12:21 AM on June 192023, 37 minutes after a call that I made, more than a dozen offices arrived at my mother's home And 2 minutes later, FDNY, EMS workers showed up.
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What I thought would be help became a living nightmare that has caused my daughter trauma ever since.
4:42:45
And once again, and for me, trauma.
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When officers arrived at the scene of my mother's home, you would have thought there was a crime in progress that required more than a dozen officers and a handful of show cars that blocked an entire one way street.
4:43:04
A crime did not occur.
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My daughter was treated, inhumane, dismissed, and was violated by the people who are supposed to serve and protect civilians including those who are having mental crisis.
4:43:20
My daughter was emotional, and her cries became screams for help.
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When officers ran into my mother's tiny corridor of her Bronx apartment.
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I'm sorry I'm gonna skip right through because time is limited.
4:43:39
While I did not witness
Linda Lee
4:43:42
It's okay.
4:43:43
Continue.
4:43:44
Sorry.
Sasha Myrie
4:43:45
While I did not witness my daughter assaulting any officer, I was there.
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My daughter did not have her rights read.
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She was not told she was being arrested.
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Until we arrived at the hospital, still, she was not informed by officers of the rest.
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She was hospitalized for 4 days in CPAC.
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While she was handcuffed, hand and feet to a bed like a caged animal.
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Unable to use the bathroom, given bed pants to urinate, and defecate And while a male officer would be in a room at all times, male officers were present when she needed hygiene care from nursing staff.
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She was exploited.
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She was humiliated.
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She was being punished for her disease in the most inhuman way possible.
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She was denied any contact with me or loved ones for 4 days.
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Not one phone call was made from her.
4:45:02
Fast forward.
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My daughter faced a felony assault charge that was brought up against her on June 23, 2023.
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I requested foils from NYPD multiple times.
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This morning, I looked at my email to see the confirmation receipts.
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I've never received anybody cam.
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My daughter spent more than a year fighting to not take a plea deal, something that is obvious in our community to cover the problem My daughter was proactive and assertive of not taking a plea deal.
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We went through 2 legal aid lawyers to a court appointed attorney who still insists these things can get tricky.
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She was coharvest in the criminal justice system.
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It wasn't until August 14 2024, not so long ago.
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2 days before her last hearing that I finally received the body cam of more than a dozen offices, and it is horrendous.
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It's an outrage, and it's a crime.
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Because what I watched on more than a dozen body cams, it took a a strength because I'm even more traumatized today.
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Because I wish 2 things.
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I never made that 911 call.
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And I wish I never had to watch those body camps because she didn't hit her officer.
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But she was physically abused that day.
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And I filed with CCRB, and everything was unfounded and unsubstantial.
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And they refused to open an investigation that I've requested.
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It's not funny how today.
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Finally, I'm able to access records.
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So I'm not gonna continue to turn a blind side because on August 14, my daughter did take ACD, a weird ACD.
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She didn't have to have any departments of community service or anything that the judge questioned the DA and the prosecutors in the room, how was it that this defendant is offered at ACD?
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What the judge didn't understand is that he was not gonna be able to hear her story.
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Because it was lies.
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I saw everything.
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My daughter was brutalized that day by police officers.
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I witnessed a police officer ready to pull his gun in front of me.
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My mother terrified.
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A senior citizen terrified in her own own and became a child.
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And she had to face a felony charge.
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And guess what?
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She has to wait another 5 months before she's cleared of that felony charge.
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Our people who are facing mental crisis in community are being discriminated.
4:48:19
They're being brutalized.
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Not all of them end up on the news, deceased.
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Some of them live with a lifetime of trauma.
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I know the job I do, I'm hearing it.
4:48:33
It's a shame.
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When you hear miss Myrie, I couldn't call 911.
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I was afraid.
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I was having a crisis.
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Now we're having people happen to make the decision.
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And we as family and caregivers and loved ones are making decision.
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Because when we're trying to save a life, 911 is out here to destroy a life forever.
4:49:00
Thank you for your time.
