Mar 6, 2009 7:32 pm US/Eastern
Trial Of Fire Island Police Officers Opens
RIVERHEAD (AP) ―
A tourist on a weekend visit to a resort labeled "Disney World on booze" was critically injured after he either fell unconscious in a drunken stupor or was viciously beaten by a police officer who lost his temper.
A jury will have to decide which scenario is the truth after opening arguments Friday in a trial accusing the acting police chief in Ocean Beach village of gang assault, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and other charges.
A second Ocean Beach police officer is also on trial, accused of hindering prosecution, reckless endangerment and other charges. Prosecutors said he failed to stop the August 2005 assault on Samuel Gilberd and for failed to tell paramedics that the victim had been beaten.
Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla told jurors they would hear testimony about "the two faces of Ocean Beach: `The Land of No' and `Disney World on Booze."'
Ocean Beach, the locale of a short-lived ABC-TV reality show in 2006, is among a series of popular summer vacation spots running the length of Fire Island, a 30-mile strip of land off Long Island's south shore. Many Fire Island villages are accessible only by ferry.
Biancavilla said Ocean Beach has a reputation for strict enforcement of laws banning eating and drinking, or even ballplaying, on the beaches, but it turns into a booze fest when the sun goes down.
"At night, the bars are filled to the rafters," Biancavilla said.
Those "two worlds collided" for Gilberd, the prosecutor said, when he was cited with littering at 3 a.m.
Gilberd was at an Ocean Beach bar when a bouncer accused him of littering after he threw a glass onto the sidewalk. The bouncer immediately took him to the nearby police station, where he was issued a littering ticket. As he left the station, Gilberd, who admitted he was drunk at the time, kicked the police station's door.
That's when Acting Chief George Hesse allegedly brought Gilberd back inside for a beating. Biancavilla, slamming his hand violently on a lectern for effect, said Hesse punched Gilberd twice in the head and then stomped on the man's midsection as he lay unconscious, tearing his bladder.
The littering charge was later dropped. Gilberd and his wife are expected to testify at the trial, which is expected to last three or four weeks.
Gilberd, who then lived in Manhattan but has since moved to California, still visits a urologist and is undergoing psychiatric care, his lawyer said. Gilberd has filed a $22 million federal lawsuit against the village and police.
Lawyers for Hesse and Officer Ronald Hardman derided accusations that a beating or any subsequent cover-up had taken place.
Gilberd "was so trashed, he collapsed, he fell down -- not because of any injury," said William Keahon, who represents Hesse. He said a blood-alcohol reading taken at a hospital hours after the incident revealed Gilberd's level was 0.25, more than triple the legal limit for driving.
"He's unconscious because he's trashed," said Keahon.
He suggested that Gilberd suffered a torn bladder because he had spent the night drinking, making it more susceptible to injury. The attorney said that when Gilberd fell, he landed on some children's scooters that were against a wall inside the police station.
"There will be no proof that he was unconscious because he was kicked or punched," Keahon told jurors.
Attorney Stephen Worth, who represents Hardman, concurred with Keahon's arguments and predicted his client would be vindicated.
"The cops didn't tell paramedics about the assault because there was no assault," said Worth.
Four Ocean Beach officers were initially charged in a 2007 indictment. Prosecutors are challenging a judge's decision to drop charges because of insufficient evidence against one defendant, William Emburey. The fourth officer, Paul Carollo, has agreed to testify for the prosecution as part of a plea agreement.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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