Playboy’s Miss November 1992 and GO Magazine’s July 2003 cover model Stephanie Adams was awarded $1.2 million from a Manhattan civil court yesterday in a suit alleging excessive force by NYPD officers.
The suit stemmed from a 2006 incident in which Adams, now 41, got into an argument with a cab driver in Chelsea. Adams said the driver called the cops and falsely told them Adams was going to shoot him—though Adams didn’t have a weapon, and was wearing such a skintight outfit she wouldn’t have had anywhere to hide it. Afraid for her safety, Adams also called police. Several officers showed up to the scene and Adams cooperated with their instructions. According to testimony, however, one officer forcibly pushed her to the ground and kneed her in the neck and back to keep her down.
Adams said the unnecessary manhandling had caused permanent injuries—and the jury agreed, giving her $350,000 on top of the $850,000 she asked for in the suit.
“This jury verdict demonstrates that there is a serious problem in this city regarding excessive use of force of our police against ordinary citizens. This must be addressed by the appropriate city officials,” Adams’ lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, told the New York Post.
An astrologer and author, Adams was the first openly lesbian Playboy Playmate when she appeared in that magazine. She is now married to a man and has a one-year-old son.
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