White Castle can’t buy advertising like this.
Below is a recent federal complaint, in which plaintiffs allege that they were arrested and struck by NYPD officers after refusing the officers’ demand for their White Castle food.
According to a recent Gothamist article:
Brooklyn residents Danny Maisonet and Kenneth Glover say that they procured White Castle meals on Halloween 2012 (just after Hurricane Sandy) when they ran into cops who were rounding up a group of men suspected of looting a supermarket on Neptune Avenue. The cops allegedly demanded their food … and Maisonet and Glover obviously refused.
It’s unclear exactly how things escalated, but the two men claim they were then struck with flashlights by the officers, handcuffed, and charged with obstructing government administration and disorderly conduct. Officer Angelo Pizzarro wrote in the complaint that Glover and Maisonet were standing in his way and forced him to walk around them while dealing with the alleged looters, and we all know how hard walking around objects or people can be. Shockingly, all the charges against them were ultimately dismissed.
The complaint alleges causes of action for unlawful stop and search, false arrest, denial of right to fair trial, malicious abuse of process, failure to intervene, unreasonable force, and municipal liability under Monell v. Dept. of Social Services of the City of New York.