Complaint #200208001,
November 13, 2002

Officer: Nikas, Elias
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 61
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
CCRB Board Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Nikas, Elias
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Board Conclusion
Nikas, Elias Hispanic Male, 61 Abuse of Authority: Other Unsubstantiated
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
Nikas, Elias Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest Exonerated

Conclusion Meanings:

'Exonerated': or 'Within NYPD Guidelines' - The conduct occurred but did not violate the NYPD's own rules, which often give officers significant discretion.
'Unsubstantiated': or 'Unable to Determine' - The alleged conduct was investigated but could not determine both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules.

Further details on conclusions.


Summary

The complainant in this case [redacted] the executive editor of [redacted] (the [redacted] filed his complaint in person at the 25th Precinct on November 27th, 2002; the complaint was then forwarded to the CCRB via telephone by Sgt. Jose Torres of the 25th Precinct. [redacted] obtained an NYPD press identification card for his friend and freelance writer for [redacted] who currently works as an [redacted] of the [redacted] The City's Department of Investigation (DOI) conducted an investigation into [redacted] and notified the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information office (DCPI) that false information was provided on [redacted] press credential application. On November 13th, 2002, Lt. Elias Nikas of DCPI contacted the office of [redacted] and spoke to [redacted] to inform him that the press identification cards issued to [redacted] were voided as a result of DOI's findings. [redacted] alleged that Lt. Nikas threatened to arrest [redacted] though the lieutenant denied this. [redacted] published three articles in [redacted] throughout the months of November, December, and January that detailed this incident. There was also an article published about the incident in the November 23-24th edition of [redacted] As a result, this case has been appearing on the Agency's sensitive case list. Read report for details.


Details

Incident: November 13, 2002
Received: November 27, 2002
Closed: April 22, 2003

Reason for contact: Other
Location: Apartment/house
In NYPD 25th Precinct Manhattan
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued