Sep 14, 2007 5:06 pm US/Eastern
Accused Mount Kisco Cop Talks About His NYPD Days
by Tony Aiello
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (CBS) ―
-
-
Rene Perez was found lying on Byram Lake Road in Bedford, near-death from internal bleeding.
CBS
The suburban officer facing manslaughter charges in the death of a vagrant once faced a brutality complaint in New York City, but was cleared, along with ten other NYPD officers.
Before joining the force in Mount Kisco, George Bubaris, 30, spent four years at the 49th Precinct in Morris Park.
In 2005, Bubaris was one of 11 police officers and supervisors named in a brutality complaint filed by teenagers Lance Velez and Fabian Parker.
The young men claimed they were mistreated as cops moved to break up a fight outside Whalen Junior High School on Wallace Ave.
The case was reviewed by the New York Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which cleared Bubaris and the ten other police officers of wrongdoing.
But the young men sued in federal court, and the city settled the case for $40,000, without admitting any wrongdoing.
With Bubaris now facing manslaughter charges in the death of Rene Perez, the earlier brutality case raises a question; is it a mark against Bubaris's record?
Highly-decorated retired detective J. Fox said it is not.
"If you're an active cop in New York City, you're going to go to CCRB, it's inevitable," Fox said.
He also said the city settling the case for $40,000 shows the city considered it a nuisance not worth fighting.
"They'll settle rather than pay the costs associated with fighting it," Fox said. "It would cost the city $150,000 in legal fees alone, so, $40,000? I'll do $40,000 any day."
Last week in an exclusive interview, Bubaris told CBS 2 he expected to see his life put under a microscope, and have every chapter of his police career examined in detail.
"I know it's gonna be a long road," Bubaris said. "I don't perceive a quick end to this, so I just have to take every day one day at a time and try to stay healthy and sane."
Bubaris was suspended without pay after a Westchester grand jury indicted him on manslaughter charges last week. He faces 15 years in prison if convicted of abandoning Perez, a homeless alcoholic, on the side of a road in remote Bedford.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Gulf Coast Braces For Ida's Heavy Rain
Hempstead Asst Police Chief Alleges Discrimination 1 hr 29 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments