Natalie Erlich
A Bronx teen landed a $45,000 payout after an NYPD cop flirted with her and then busted the 17-year-old on bogus charges because she brushed him off, according to court documents.
Natalie Erlich says she was grabbing an after-school snack with two female friends on Nov. 4, 2013, when Officer José Peinan and another cop struck up a conversation with them in Kingsbridge.
I had on a camouflage hat and [Peinan] had on camouflage pants, Erlich, now 19, told The Post. He said, We match. I brushed him off and I laughed.
Erlich went around the corner to buy a cup of hot cocoa, and the plainclothes cop followed her, she alleged.
He said something slick like, Where are you going? she added. I said, Im going home.
When Erlich asked if he was a cop, he replied, Maybe. She then told him thats a cop answer.
Seconds later, a van pulled up and four more officers got out. Thats when Peinan ordered them to cuff her, she claimed.
He said she blew his cover, Erlichs mother said.
Erlich said that when she asked why she was being arrested, Peinan responded, You know why youre being a smartass.
They searched her, then put her and a friend, Marie Gonzalez, in the back of a police van before taking them to the 52nd Precinct station house a couple of hours later, she said.
They didnt release her until 11 a.m. the next day.
I was scared, she said. I didnt know what was going on.
Erlich filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, claiming she and her friend were arrested because Peinan was angered at having his advances rebuffed, according to court documents.
While she was frisked, a male cop was touching her breasts, the suit also said.
Peinan then unlawfully subjected the two completely innocent women to approximately 19 hours of detention and charged them with Obstruction of Governmental Administration, the lawsuit alleges.
Last week, the city agreed to settle for $45,000 and the charges against both teens have been dropped.
Peinan, who has been named in three other suits the city has been forced to settle, could not be reached for comment.