Aitabdel Salem, 42, was arrested in 2014 because he allegedly attacked a NYPD officer after the cop tried to collar him for stealing a Zara coat.
The NY Daily News reported that his bail was initially set for $25,000, and dropped to a buck by his next court date which Salem was never produced for. He wasn’t produced for the following two court dates either, and the judge ordered him to be released on his own because he couldn’t put together a grand jury in 144 hours.
Now, Salem wants the city and his lawyers to pay. The lawsuit alleges:
Mr. Salem implored corrections officers within (Rikers Island) to tell him what happened on his respective court dates. None of the corrections officers told him that he was ordered to be free on Nov. 28, 2014, because his bail had been reduced from to $1. In fact, they all ignored his unrelenting pleas for information regarding his freedom
His bail was finally posted by a prison chaplain on April 15, 2015.
