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Woman files lawsuit against NYPD over topless arrests

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NEW YORK, May 16 (UPI) -- A performance artist in New York has filed a lawsuit accusing the New York Police Department of violating her civil right to bare her breasts in public.

Holly Van Voast filed suit Wednesday against the city and the NYPD, alleging she had been detained, arrested or issued summonses 10 times 2011 and 2012 for showing her breasts, The New York Times reported.

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In her lawsuit, Van Voast, 46, says each time her case was either dismissed or dropped because the state's highest court ruled more than 20 years ago that bearing one's chest is legal for men and women.

The lawsuit seeks compensation from the city and punitive damages from several named and unnamed officers for her treatment, which the suit alleges constituted civil rights violations.

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