POLICE MISCONDUCT

[samhexum]

I'm so thrilled this a**hole is still on the job:

 

Cop at center of viral social distancing bust has cost NYC $200K

 

The NYPD cop suspended following the violent arrest of a bystander in the East Village has been sued seven times over the last six years — costingthe city more than $200,000 payouts, court records show.

 

Officer Francisco Garcia was captured in a now-viral video Saturday slapping and punching a 33-year-old bystander who went face-to-face with the cop following a social distancing bust.

 

On Monday, the Manhattan DA said it was deferring the charges against the bystander, Donni Wright, over the incident near the corner of East Ninth Street and Avenue D.

 

But this wasn’t the first time the eight-year veteran’s actions were questioned following an arrest, leading to at least six settlements from lawsuits, according to CAPstat, a database of aggregate court data.

 

CAPstat was created by the Legal Aid Society in March of 2019 and shows the number of lawsuits against police officers in the NYPD and the settlements.

 

The largest settlement the city doled out was for $120,000 in 2018 in response to allegations against Garcia and his partner Gabor Kolman, according to the records.

 

The lawsuit alleges the pair racially profiled Hector Hernandez in January 2016, which led to a wrongful arrest and assault.

 

In another case, Garcia threw Marcus Bussey to the ground inside a public housing complex in Washington Heights in February 2014 and “began assaulting him with fists, shod feet and foreign objects, attacking his legs, knees, thighs, back, ribs and head,” the lawsuit alleges.

 

Bussey was visiting his girlfriend at the time of the wrongful arrests, according to the suit, which was settled for $27,500 the next year.

 

In October 2013, a year after Garcia joined the force, the cop allegedly ridiculed a woman for her sexual orientation at a fast-food joint, the suit says.

 

When the woman, Natae Adams, tried to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly said, “Take a f–king picture of it, f–king d–e!” and later arrested her, according to the suit.

 

That suit, filed in 2016, was settled for $8,500 seven months later, court records show.

 

A spokeswoman for the NYPD declined to comment on the suits.

 

SEE ALSO

Video shows NYPD responding to social distancing call moments before viral melee

[+ FrankR]

I'm so thrilled this a**hole is still on the job:

 

Cop at center of viral social distancing bust has cost NYC $200K

 

The NYPD cop suspended following the violent arrest of a bystander in the East Village has been sued seven times over the last six years — costingthe city more than $200,000 payouts, court records show.

 

Officer Francisco Garcia was captured in a now-viral video Saturday slapping and punching a 33-year-old bystander who went face-to-face with the cop following a social distancing bust.

 

On Monday, the Manhattan DA said it was deferring the charges against the bystander, Donni Wright, over the incident near the corner of East Ninth Street and Avenue D.

 

But this wasn’t the first time the eight-year veteran’s actions were questioned following an arrest, leading to at least six settlements from lawsuits, according to CAPstat, a database of aggregate court data.

 

CAPstat was created by the Legal Aid Society in March of 2019 and shows the number of lawsuits against police officers in the NYPD and the settlements.

 

The largest settlement the city doled out was for $120,000 in 2018 in response to allegations against Garcia and his partner Gabor Kolman, according to the records.

 

The lawsuit alleges the pair racially profiled Hector Hernandez in January 2016, which led to a wrongful arrest and assault.

 

In another case, Garcia threw Marcus Bussey to the ground inside a public housing complex in Washington Heights in February 2014 and “began assaulting him with fists, shod feet and foreign objects, attacking his legs, knees, thighs, back, ribs and head,” the lawsuit alleges.

 

Bussey was visiting his girlfriend at the time of the wrongful arrests, according to the suit, which was settled for $27,500 the next year.

 

In October 2013, a year after Garcia joined the force, the cop allegedly ridiculed a woman for her sexual orientation at a fast-food joint, the suit says.

 

When the woman, Natae Adams, tried to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly said, “Take a f–king picture of it, f–king d–e!” and later arrested her, according to the suit.

 

That suit, filed in 2016, was settled for $8,500 seven months later, court records show.

 

A spokeswoman for the NYPD declined to comment on the suits.

 

SEE ALSO

Video shows NYPD responding to social distancing call moments before viral melee

I don't always agree with Bill Maher. But in this case he did make a strong argument for better training and calling out those good cops that stand by and do nothing while the few bad cops use excessive force. And yes, hiring practices need to be examined as well.