Nassau County police officer whose lawyer claims she was wrongfully arrested by fellow officers in an off-duty incident tainted by "racial animus" pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and harassment charges Thursday.
A district court judge in Hempstead released Dolores Sharpe of Jamaica, Queens, on her own recognizance after her plea, which came as dozens of supporters packed the courtroom for her arraignment.
The charges against the 19-year veteran stem from a Nov. 29 incident in West Hempstead. A Nassau police spokesman previously has said the incident is the subject of a department internal affairs probe.
Sharpe's lawyer said she also pleaded not guilty Thursday in a separate court to a traffic violation related to the same incident, in which police have alleged she had an illegal tint on her vehicle windows.
Her attorney, Fred Brewington, said during his client's district court appearance at about 9:30 a.m. that just before her arraignment was the first time his client had received any notification about that separate violation from the government. That ticket had demanded her appearance in a separate court at 9 a.m. Thursday.
"It was never presented, nor raised to Miss Sharpe," Brewington said of the tinted window violation, calling it new information for "the alleged reason for this stop."
"Had we not looked at these papers carefully, she would have missed another court date," he said, alleging "trickery" on the police department's part.
Sharpe is black and the two male officers involved in her arrest, Officer Charles Volpe and Officer Victor Gladitz, are white.
Court documents that became available Thursday contain details about the government's case against Sharpe.
The government alleges Sharpe committed the misdemeanor of second-degree harassment by taking a neck chain from her pocket, and in an attempt to strike Gladitz with it, swinging the object at his face.
"At no point in time did the defendant have permission or authority to take her chain out and swing it at Officer Gladitz's face," a charging document says, describing the incident as happening during a traffic stop.
Court records also allege Sharpe is guilty of resisting arrest because Gladitz tried to take her into custody after she swung the chain at him, but she "resisted and refused to comply with multiple lawful orders to place her hands behind her back" that both Gladitz and Volpe gave her.
The document claims Sharpe refused to put her hands behind her back by "flailing her arms and pulling away" from the officers, who arrested her after a brief struggle.
Brewington said Thursday that the officer has served a 30-day unpaid suspension from her job and is back working in some capacity, but without her service weapon.
Sharpe declined to comment.
In December, her attorney described her side of the arrest in a press conference.
Brewington said then that his client had parked outside a store before Volpe drove up to her in a marked police car and berated her, telling her she had interfered with an investigation by blocking his view.
The lawyer said Sharpe told him she was a fellow officer and asked if she could help, before Volpe cursed at her and she went into the store.
Volpe verbally abused her when she came back outside a short time later and told her to get out of her car, but she refused and said Volpe should call a supervisor, according to Brewington.
Sharpe drove off when Volpe didn't call a supervisor, and Volpe pulled her over two blocks away and told her to get out of her car, the defense lawyer alleged.
Sharpe refused and again asked for a supervisor to be called, and Gladitz soon arrived to assist, Brewington said.
Gladitz demanded Sharpe's identification, arrested her and put her in handcuffs, according to Sharpe's attorney, who said a sergeant then came on scene and ordered her handcuffs removed.
Brewington previously said his client was taken to the Fourth Precinct, where she was detained for three hours, and given an appearance ticket before being released.
The district attorney's office had no immediate comment after Thursday's arraignment, and a police spokesman couldn't be immediately reached for comment.