Aug 27, 2008 10:49 am US/Eastern
Yonkers Cop Pleads Not Guilty To Assault Of Woman
Grand Jury Says Wayne Simoes Used Excessive Force; Female Victim Suffered Broken Jaw, Cuts And Bruises
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) ―
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Officer Simoes' takedown of Irma Marquez on March 3 amounted to assault and violated her right against unreasonable force from a police officer, a federal grand jury said.
CBS
A Yonkers policeman has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he body-slammed an unarmed woman onto a tile floor, breaking her jaw.
Yonkers Officer Wayne Simoes entered the plea to the civil rights charge in federal court on Wednesday.
The takedown of Irma Marquez on March 3 was caught by a security camera. A federal grand jury has said it amounted to assault and violated her right against unreasonable force from a police officer.
She has sued the Yonkers Police Department for $11 million.
If convicted, Simoes could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Authorities said at the time that Simoes was trying to keep the woman from interfering with emergency medical technicians assisting her niece, who had been hit in the head with a bottle.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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