Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
A gang of rogue cops clobbered a Brooklyn man they saw smoking a joint, then sodomized him with a walkie-talkie antenna during a broad-daylight attack in a subway station, law-enforcement sources and the victim's lawyer said yesterday.
The alleged attack, reminiscent of the 1997 police assault on Abner Louima, put Michael Mineo, 24, in Brookdale Hospital for four days.
"This is one of the most horrendous and grievous cases I've ever seen," said Mineo's lawyer, Stephen Jackson, who will file a notice of claim against the city next week.
In the Louima case, the victim was black, the attackers white. In this case, Mineo is white and the officers are black, Hispanic and white.
Law-enforcement sources said the investigation was focusing on five cops - four patrol officers from the 71st Precinct and a transit officer - all of whom were characterized as relatively inexperienced.
The officer who allegedly committed the sodomy is believed to be in his 20s, with 2½ years on the job.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the department's initial investigation turned up little to support Mineo's story.
"Police officers grappled with an individual who they observed smoking marijuana after he had fled and resisted being handcuffed," said Browne. "His assertion that he was sodomized is not supported by independent civilian witnesses."
But law-enforcement sources told a different story to The Post - specifically noting that at least one witness reported seeing Mineo's exposed buttocks as cops held him down. A co-worker at the Jiggaman tattoo parlor on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn said Mineo had been released from the hospital, but was in pain and did not appear to be improving.
"He's getting pale," said Keasha Brown, 25. "He's looking sick. Those people are dangerous. It makes me sick."
Mineo was walking from his home to the Prospect Park subway station on Empire Boulevard at Flatbush Avenue at about 2 p.m. on Oct. 15 when two uniformed officers spotted him allegedly smoking a joint.
They chased him into the station, and at some point, Mineo allegedly swallowed the marijuana. Five cops tackled him near a token booth, where they beat him and stood on his neck, said Jackson and the law-enforcement sources.
One officer then allegedly pulled Mineo's pants down and shoved a police radio's antenna into his rectum.
The cops then hauled a bleeding Mineo into a police car and issued him a desk-appearance ticket before cutting him loose, Jackson said.
They also warned him not to report the incident or they would upgrade his charge to a felony, according to the attorney.
Jackson said his client heard one of the officers yell, "No! Don't do it!" as his pants were being pulled down. His roommate and co-worker, Jason Amolsch, found him yelling that the "cops violated him."
Sources said the officers are still on active duty.
"It's alarming that you have police officers out there who, for all intents and purposes, are guilty of gang rape," said Jackson.
Mineo has a pending assault case in Brooklyn.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: NEW YORK POST
Author: MURRAY WEISS, REUVEN FENTON and ALEX GINSBERG
Copyright: 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc.
Contact: Breaking News | Headline News | Current - New York Post
Website: HORROR 'ABUSE' BY COPS - New York Post
The alleged attack, reminiscent of the 1997 police assault on Abner Louima, put Michael Mineo, 24, in Brookdale Hospital for four days.
"This is one of the most horrendous and grievous cases I've ever seen," said Mineo's lawyer, Stephen Jackson, who will file a notice of claim against the city next week.
In the Louima case, the victim was black, the attackers white. In this case, Mineo is white and the officers are black, Hispanic and white.
Law-enforcement sources said the investigation was focusing on five cops - four patrol officers from the 71st Precinct and a transit officer - all of whom were characterized as relatively inexperienced.
The officer who allegedly committed the sodomy is believed to be in his 20s, with 2½ years on the job.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the department's initial investigation turned up little to support Mineo's story.
"Police officers grappled with an individual who they observed smoking marijuana after he had fled and resisted being handcuffed," said Browne. "His assertion that he was sodomized is not supported by independent civilian witnesses."
But law-enforcement sources told a different story to The Post - specifically noting that at least one witness reported seeing Mineo's exposed buttocks as cops held him down. A co-worker at the Jiggaman tattoo parlor on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn said Mineo had been released from the hospital, but was in pain and did not appear to be improving.
"He's getting pale," said Keasha Brown, 25. "He's looking sick. Those people are dangerous. It makes me sick."
Mineo was walking from his home to the Prospect Park subway station on Empire Boulevard at Flatbush Avenue at about 2 p.m. on Oct. 15 when two uniformed officers spotted him allegedly smoking a joint.
They chased him into the station, and at some point, Mineo allegedly swallowed the marijuana. Five cops tackled him near a token booth, where they beat him and stood on his neck, said Jackson and the law-enforcement sources.
One officer then allegedly pulled Mineo's pants down and shoved a police radio's antenna into his rectum.
The cops then hauled a bleeding Mineo into a police car and issued him a desk-appearance ticket before cutting him loose, Jackson said.
They also warned him not to report the incident or they would upgrade his charge to a felony, according to the attorney.
Jackson said his client heard one of the officers yell, "No! Don't do it!" as his pants were being pulled down. His roommate and co-worker, Jason Amolsch, found him yelling that the "cops violated him."
Sources said the officers are still on active duty.
"It's alarming that you have police officers out there who, for all intents and purposes, are guilty of gang rape," said Jackson.
Mineo has a pending assault case in Brooklyn.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: NEW YORK POST
Author: MURRAY WEISS, REUVEN FENTON and ALEX GINSBERG
Copyright: 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc.
Contact: Breaking News | Headline News | Current - New York Post
Website: HORROR 'ABUSE' BY COPS - New York Post
