Three Schenectady women sue Rivers Casino; allege assault by security officers
NY July 26, 2022 — Three Schenectady women are suing Rivers Casino & Resort and several of its security officers, alleging the officers assaulted them earlier this year.
Takeylyn Gibson and her twin daughters, Tajhanae and Tahziana Gibson, are seeking an unspecified sum in damages and punitive damages.
The paperwork filed Monday by Schenectady attorney Daniel Smalls indicates the matter stems from a May 22 incident at the waterfront casino. Named as the defendant is Capital Region Gaming LLC, doing business as Rivers Casino & Resort, along with five security officers, names unknown.
Rivers typically does not comment on legal matters, and hadn’t seen the paperwork in this particular case, a spokesman said later Monday.
The legal paperwork states and alleges:
The five uniformed officers verbally and physically abused the Gibsons, committing assault and battery that resulted in severe personal injury and serious, permanent bodily harm.
They intentionally touched the Gibsons in a hostile and offensive manner.
Their actions were willful, intentional, unwarranted, without provocation and were taken within the scope of their employment duties; their conduct was intentionally and recklessly extreme, shocking, outrageous and in utter disregard for the Gibsons’ safety and wellbeing.
Rivers was negligent in its duties; failed to protect the Gibsons; retained in its employ personnel who are violent or possess violent propensities; failed to adequately train or supervise its personnel; and was negligent in employee retention and promotion.
Rivers didn’t create or use an early warning screening system for the psychological profiles of the officers, and did not detect or act in a timely manner to the signs and symptoms of their unfitness.
The Gibsons’ injuries were caused through no fault of their own, but wholly by the negligence of the casino and its employees.
The Gibsons have and will be caused great pain, shock and mental anguish as a result; have become sick, sore and disabled; have and will incur medical expenses; have and will be prevented from attending to their usual duties, vocations and avocations.
The Gibsons suffered loss of enjoyment of life, economic harm, emotional upset, shock, fright and fear of impending injury or death.
Smalls filed the complaint Monday in state Supreme Court, Schenectady County.
The paperwork lacks details on the incident and what led up to it, but Smalls provided further information to The Daily Gazette.
It was an unprovoked assault, he said.
“They were inside the casino enjoying their evening and they left to go home to get more money,” he said.
When they returned, Smalls said, one of the security officers recognized them and waved them over to his entry lane. The daughters wanted to stay with their mother at a second security officer’s checkpoint. Cellphone video footage of the incident appears to show the first security officer becoming annoyed at this, arguing with the second security officer before coming over and throwing the daughters to the ground.
“There were multiple people around that witnessed it,” Smalls said. “You could see that this security officer was irate.”
Their mother tried to intervene and also was thrown to the ground, he said.
Once they were down, they tried to defend themselves, he added.
Asked about the Gibsons’ injuries, Smalls said there were cuts and scrapes but the damage was more psychological than physical.