The heartbroken mother and grandmother of 2-year-old Montrell Williams, who drowned after his father allegedly threw him into the East River from a highway overpass, are filing a claim for $60 million against the city and NYPD for dragging their feet in finding the toddler after his mother reported him missing, they announced at a press conference on Friday.
“Montrell Williams should be here today if it wasn’t for the NYPD being neglectful in finding him,” Reverend Kevin McCall, who is representing the family, said outside the 40th Precinct in the Bronx on Friday afternoon. “No amount of money will bring him back. However, the NYPD has to be held responsible.”
“This is my first time speaking about my son,” said Cierra Carroll, Montrell’s 17-year-old mother, standing next to McCall. “I want the NYPD to know what they did.”
Carroll first reported Montrell missing on May 11, after his father, Arius Williams, 20, failed to return the toddler from an approved visit at the appointed time. In her initial 911 call, Carroll told police that she was concerned for Montrell’s safety, noting his father’s history of acting erratically and previous domestic violence incidents, according to filing documents.
“NYPD officers misclassified the call as a custody dispute, failed to initiate a missing child investigation, failed to issue an Amber Alert, and took no immediate steps to locate or safeguard Montrell… delaying critical actions that could have prevented the child’s death,” the claim reads.
Kerry Burke / New York Daily News
The site near Bronx River Ave. where Arius Williams is accused of tossing his 2-year-old son Montrell into the Bronx River. (Photo by Kerry Burke / New York Daily News)
Over the following month, the family continued to ask police to investigate the boy’s disappearance.
Little Montrell’s body was finally recovered from the East River on June 11. Arius Williams has been charged with murder and is being held without bail awaiting trial.
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