Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Lawyers defending three police officers accused of abusing a suspect in a Brooklyn subway station or covering it up mounted a wide-ranging attack Thursday on the case made by prosecutors, suggesting that forensic evidence may have been faked and that witness testimony did not back up the charges.
First, they tackled the accusations of a cover-up.
The prosecutors contend that on Oct. 15, 2008, the officers arrested a body piercer named Michael Mineo for smoking marijuana and then let him go with a summons, even though they knew he had outstanding arrest warrants. That light punishment, they contend, was intended to smother a crime: one of the three officers, Richard Kern, is accused of sodomizing Mr. Mineo with a baton. ( The other two, Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales, face charges including hindering prosecution. )
But on Thursday, defense lawyers said the officers had been encouraged by their supervisors not to arrest people for smoking marijuana.
They called Deputy Inspector Peter J. Simonetti, the commanding officer of the 71st Precinct, in Brooklyn, who testified that the policy of the precinct was that "marijuana collars" were to be handled by rookies or officers on patrol.
Officers like Mr. Kern and Mr. Morales, who belonged to an anticrime unit, were supposed to focus on more serious offenses, like burglaries, the inspector said. They would not be punished for making marijuana arrests, he said, but they would have to explain themselves to him.
That testimony could be helpful to Officer Morales, who was not inside the subway station, but faces charges of falsifying records and official misconduct in relation to the writing of the summons. Prosecutors say he also heard Officer Kern threaten Mr. Mineo, telling him not to visit a hospital or a police station.
The defense lawyers have not yet said whether their clients will testify. In court, Justice Alan D. Marrus said he expects that testimony will wrap up next week and that the jury will hear closing arguments after the Feb. 15 holiday.
Most of the testimony Thursday focused on a small hole in the back of the boxer shorts Mr. Mineo was wearing the day of the confrontation: he has said it was caused by Officer Kern's baton, but a forensic specialist who used to work for the Police Department testified that the baton could not have made the hole.
The specialist, Nicholas Petraco, who is now a consultant to the Police Department, said the hole looked as if it had been punched out by a hollow object, like a metal tube. The edges did not have evidence of pulling or tearing, and there was no flap left over, "as you would expect if it was punctured."
A prosecutor, Charles Guria, challenged Mr. Petraco, asking whether he had taken into account all the possibilities: Couldn't fabric have been lost during the arrest, or as Mr. Mineo sat in a patrol car or when he got to the hospital? Mr. Petraco conceded that it could have been.
Jurors also heard testimony from James Dallas, the agent at the Prospect Park subway station, where Mr. Mineo was arrested. Mr. Dallas's wife, Andrea, and 13-year-old son, who had been at the station picking him up that day, testified for the prosecution at the trial's start.
Mr. Dallas, who stood about 10 feet away as Mr. Mineo lay handcuffed on the ground, said that he did not see any abuse but that his view might have been obstructed. A few days later, Mr. Dallas testified, Mr. Mineo returned to the station and asked whether it had any security cameras.
NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2010 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
Author: Kareem Fahim
First, they tackled the accusations of a cover-up.
The prosecutors contend that on Oct. 15, 2008, the officers arrested a body piercer named Michael Mineo for smoking marijuana and then let him go with a summons, even though they knew he had outstanding arrest warrants. That light punishment, they contend, was intended to smother a crime: one of the three officers, Richard Kern, is accused of sodomizing Mr. Mineo with a baton. ( The other two, Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales, face charges including hindering prosecution. )
But on Thursday, defense lawyers said the officers had been encouraged by their supervisors not to arrest people for smoking marijuana.
They called Deputy Inspector Peter J. Simonetti, the commanding officer of the 71st Precinct, in Brooklyn, who testified that the policy of the precinct was that "marijuana collars" were to be handled by rookies or officers on patrol.
Officers like Mr. Kern and Mr. Morales, who belonged to an anticrime unit, were supposed to focus on more serious offenses, like burglaries, the inspector said. They would not be punished for making marijuana arrests, he said, but they would have to explain themselves to him.
That testimony could be helpful to Officer Morales, who was not inside the subway station, but faces charges of falsifying records and official misconduct in relation to the writing of the summons. Prosecutors say he also heard Officer Kern threaten Mr. Mineo, telling him not to visit a hospital or a police station.
The defense lawyers have not yet said whether their clients will testify. In court, Justice Alan D. Marrus said he expects that testimony will wrap up next week and that the jury will hear closing arguments after the Feb. 15 holiday.
Most of the testimony Thursday focused on a small hole in the back of the boxer shorts Mr. Mineo was wearing the day of the confrontation: he has said it was caused by Officer Kern's baton, but a forensic specialist who used to work for the Police Department testified that the baton could not have made the hole.
The specialist, Nicholas Petraco, who is now a consultant to the Police Department, said the hole looked as if it had been punched out by a hollow object, like a metal tube. The edges did not have evidence of pulling or tearing, and there was no flap left over, "as you would expect if it was punctured."
A prosecutor, Charles Guria, challenged Mr. Petraco, asking whether he had taken into account all the possibilities: Couldn't fabric have been lost during the arrest, or as Mr. Mineo sat in a patrol car or when he got to the hospital? Mr. Petraco conceded that it could have been.
Jurors also heard testimony from James Dallas, the agent at the Prospect Park subway station, where Mr. Mineo was arrested. Mr. Dallas's wife, Andrea, and 13-year-old son, who had been at the station picking him up that day, testified for the prosecution at the trial's start.
Mr. Dallas, who stood about 10 feet away as Mr. Mineo lay handcuffed on the ground, said that he did not see any abuse but that his view might have been obstructed. A few days later, Mr. Dallas testified, Mr. Mineo returned to the station and asked whether it had any security cameras.
NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2010 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
Author: Kareem Fahim
