Nov 22, 2008 11:56 pm US/Eastern
NYPD Officer Denies Sodomy Allegation
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Officer Richard Kern said in a statement Saturday that he's innocent of charges he sodomized Michael Mineo. (file)
CBS
A New York City police officer insists he did nothing wrong during the arrest of a tattoo parlor employee who claims police sodomized him last month on a subway platform.
In his first public remarks on the case, Richard Kern said in a statement Saturday that he's innocent.
A grand jury will is expected to decide within the next two weeks whether the 25-year-old patrolman and other officers will face criminal charges stemming from allegations by Michael Mineo that he was violated with what he thought was the antenna of a police radio.
A transit officer told the grand jury that he saw Kern instead wielding a baton and placing it near Mineo's behind. Mineo said he was thankful the cop supported his brutality allegations. "I'm happy – I'm real happy that he came out and said what he said, because he must have felt bad," Mineo said. "I can't speak for him, but he probably has a heart."
Police have said Mineo tried to get away from them after he was spotted smoking marijuana outside a Brooklyn station. Mineo said he was tackled by two cops near the token booth -- it was about 12:30 in the afternoon -- and that three other cops also appeared. Mineo's lawyers said while one officer held him down, the other pulled down his pants, and then, allegedly, shoved part of what was thought to be a walkie-talkie into his rectum.
In a statement back on Oct. 26, Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said: "His assertion that he was sodomized is not supported by independent civilian witnesses on the scene."
Later, on the phone, Browne told CBS 2 HD: "The witnesses said they heard him said he was being sodomized, and that he was being Tasered. They saw neither and we checked. Those officers don't carry Tasers."
Actually, one law enforcement source said Mineo may have yelled, "Don't Taser me!" as if he was afraid he might be Tasered. A friend immediately took Mineo to Brookdale Hospital. Someone read the medical report to CBS 2 HD. It said the diagnosis is anal assault. The hospital called the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.
Mineo works at a tattoo parlor. He has a case pending for taking part in a brawl in April, according to police. He first spoke to CBS 2 HD back on Oct. 26 about the incident 11 days earlier.
"I was violated," Mineo said. "How do you think I'm supposed to feel?"
The NYPD initially fought back against the allegations of brutality. However, the officers in question are now being investigated by both the Brooklyn district attorney and NYPD Internal Affairs.
(© 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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