Brownsville senior claims police brutality

An elderly Brownsville resident claims police officers beat her up when they barged into her home, searching for her son. Elizabeth Maxwell, 75, was inside her apartment at 619 Rockaway Ave. when she

News 12 Staff

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Jul 28, 2008, 5:34 PM

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Updated 5,842 days ago

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An elderly Brownsville resident claims police officers beat her up when they barged into her home, searching for her son.

Elizabeth Maxwell, 75, was inside her apartment at 619 Rockaway Ave. when she heard police at her door at 4:30 a.m. on July 3.

"They knocked me down,? Maxwell recalls. ?I tried to get up; they pushed me down [and] told me ?don't move.??

maxwell says she asked the officers to produce a search warrant, but they refused. Police say, however, they had a no-knock warrant, which allows them to enter without prior warning.

The officers were looking for Maxwell?s son, 51-year-old Kenneth Maxwell. According to authorities, he is a convicted killer.

?There was no reason for police to come to her apartment where her sons don't live,? says Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brownsville).

Kenneth Maxwell, however, was in the apartment at the time of the search, and was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm and drugs.

"I want to know why police hit me and abused me,? Maxwell says. ?I didn't do anything to anybody.?

The senior citizen also claims the responding officers refused to provide her with medical assistance, but authorities say they did contact EMS.

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