A former Playboy Playmate is suing the NYPD over a 2006 incident in which she alleges police used excessive force on her. Stephanie Adams, who was the first openly lesbian Playboy bunny in 1992, says cops drew their guns on her and "mashed" her face into the pavement after she got into an argument with a cab driver who falsely told the cops she had threatened to shoot him. “We’re very pleased she has her case before the jury,” said her lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Adams, who is also a model and astrologist, says she was taking a cab back to her apartment on May 25, 2006, when driver Eric Darko refused to take her closer to her building. They got into a shouting match, and she called cops to report him; he in turn called cops as well claiming she threatened to shoot him. Adams says plainclothes officers soon arrived and approached her with their guns drawn, telling her not to move. She says she complied, but police reacted out of proportion, throwing her forcibly into the ground.

Adams’ trial lawyer, Nina Neumunz, contended that was unnecessary and that officers should have been able to tell she was unarmed because she was wearing a tight midriff-baring top and tight jeans. Adams’ doctor, David Adin, testified yesterday that the incident injured spinal discs, causing her severe back pain.

Sgt. John Rajan testified she didn’t react when he told her to lie face down, so he felt compelled to make her: “It was a controlled drop to the ground...We didn’t know if she had a firearm.” He did admit police didn't see a need to frisk her after that because “she was wearing tight-fitting clothing, and there was no place to conceal a weapon.”

Adams was Playboy's Miss November 1992, and the first (and possibly only) Playboy Playmate to declare herself a lesbian. She was also named "best NYC lesbian sex symbol" in 2004 by the Village Voice. Adams married a man in 2009, and retired from being a public persona to focus on having a family.

Oh, and also: for his part, Darko told city investigators that at the time, he had thought Adams was a vampire.