-
Sep 6, 2007 11:30 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Mount Kisco Cop Charged In Death Of Homeless Man
by Tony Aiello
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS) ―
A Mount Kisco police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges related to the death of a homeless man from Guatemala in April.
Officer George Bubaris was arrested Thursday morning, after indicted by a grand jury on second-degree manslaughter, unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct charges in the death of Rene Perez. If convicted of manslaughter, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
"(The crimes were) all the more heinous and troubling and disturbing because they occurred while he was a police officer on duty," said Westchester County Assistant District Attorney Michael Hughes. He said the crimes amounted to "a violation of this officer's public trust."
It was late April when Perez was found lying on Byram Lake Road in Bedford, near-death from internal bleeding. Perez, an alcoholic, was found a short time after he interacted with three police officers in Mount Kisco, where he'd used a phone at a laundromat to call 911, complaining he didn't feel well.
CBS 2 first reported surveillance cameras near the scene captured video of a Mount Kisco police car driving on Byram Lake Road shortly before Perez was found. Sources said the car on the video is Mount Kisco Car 40.
An analysis of the video showed the car in question had a so-called "cow catcher," which is a set of metal bars attached to its front bumper. Car 40 is the only one in the Mount Kisco fleet that is so equipped.
On that April night, Car 40 was driven by Officer Bubaris, one of three Mount Kisco cops who interacted with Perez at the laundromat.
Perez was a well-known troublemaker in Mount Kisco, and had been arrested repeatedly for petty crimes.
Defense lawyer Edward Hayes said in court that the case "is not one that shocks the conscience. There's no allegation that (Bubaris) beat him or anything."
Hayes said of Perez: "His body is a mass of abuse from alcohol."
"Most days he passes out and sleeps where he falls. It is a case that can be defended," said Hayes.
Judge Lester Adler gave Bubaris until Friday morning to post $100,000 bail and released him in the meantime.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)