Long Island Cabbie Files Suit Against DA, Police Chief & 8 College Students

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island cab driver has filed a lawsuit claiming he was falsely arrested after eight college students allegedly used a Nassau County police connection to prevent their own arrests for refusing to pay a $28 fare.

Mevyo Jean told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera one of the students threatened him not to make any trouble.

"He said 'you don't want to mess with me because my uncle is chief of police, you might regret this,'" Jean said.

The cabbie said the police chief's nephew had dropped his phone while jumping out of the cab, and days later Jean was arrested for robbery.

"I asked 'why am I in handcuffs?'"

He said the arresting officer agreed it wasn't fair, Rivera reported.

"'We got to follow orders because that's what the big man want,'" Jean said the arresting officer told him.

Jean's lawyer called it an abuse of power "in order to cover up his nephew's misdemeanor, minor transgression of jumping on a fare."

A judge threw out the March 2013 robbery case against Jean in February.

Now, Jean has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the unidentified Nassau County police chief, the district attorney and eight LIU Post lacrosse players.

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