The mother of a two-year-old boy, who tragically drowned in the East River, has initiated a $60 million lawsuit against the city and the NYPD. She claims they failed to act when notified about her son’s disappearance.
Cierra Carroll, who is just 17, alleges in her recent filing that the police misunderstood her 911 call about her son Montrell Williams, who was reported missing in May.
“Montrell Williams should still be here if the NYPD had taken proper action,” stated Rev. Kevin McCall, representing the family, during a press conference outside the NYPD 40th Precinct on Friday.
“I know the amount won’t change what happened,” McCall continued. “But the NYPD has to be held accountable.”
Carroll reached out to the police on May 11 after her son’s father, 20-year-old Arians Williams, didn’t return Montrell. She contends that the officers dismissed her concerns during the initial call.
“They told me they didn’t follow him and advised me to file a complaint,” Carroll recounted. “I informed them he had a warrant, and their response was, ‘So what?’”
Carroll’s mother, Octavia Loan, added that the call handler “hung up” on them.
The family, represented by Rev. McCall and Montrell’s grandmother, initially filed a lawsuit in June, alleging that the police misclassified the 911 call as a mere custody issue.
Arians Williams has been charged with murder, accused of throwing his son off a Bronx overpass into the East River during a visit.
On Mother’s Day, Carroll had been eagerly waiting for her son to come back from a trip to McDonald’s. Sadly, Montrell’s body was later discovered in the waters near Ferry Point Park in Queens.
Montrell had not been reported missing until a day after the incident, and the family claims it wasn’t until May 28 that the authorities issued a warrant requiring his father’s compliance.
Reports indicate that when Carroll confronted Williams about their son, he allegedly responded fiercely, claiming, “I threw that [expletive] into the river!”
Now, the family is demanding that the NYPD accept their part in this tragedy.
The lawsuit details major lapses by the police, stating that they mischaracterized the call as a custody dispute, failed to launch an effective investigation into a missing child, neglected to issue an Amber Alert, and didn’t take swift measures to locate Montrell.
