Complaint #200307393,
September 21, 2003

Officer: Mardarello, Richard
Complainant: Female
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
CCRB Board Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Casey, Glenn
Complainant: Female
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
CCRB Board Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Cortright, Patrick
Complainant: Male, 25
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Male, 25-29
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
CCRB Board Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Essig, James
Complainant: Female
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Seizure of property
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Board Conclusion
Mardarello, Richard Female Force: Physical force Unsubstantiated
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
Casey, Glenn Female Force: Physical force Unsubstantiated
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
Cortright, Patrick Male, 25 Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search Exonerated
Unknown Officer Male, 25-29 Force: Physical force Unsubstantiated
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unfounded
Essig, James Female Abuse of Authority: Seizure of property 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

[redacted] said that at around 12:45AM, he was sitting in [redacted] s SUV in front of her residence on [redacted] in the Bronx, near [redacted] and [redacted] was talking with his friend, [redacted] who lives around the corner, when three officers (identified through the investigation as DI Essig, Lt. Cortright and PO Fernandez) approached him in an unmarked police vehicle. DI Essig asked him to step out of the vehicle. [redacted] said that Lt. Cortright then entered the vehicle and was "searching through some items [he] had in the [open] compartment in the middle of the vehicle." [redacted] stated that the officer "was moving things around." Lt. Cortright then took the keys out of the vehicle, separated [redacted] s house keys from his car key, and handed [redacted] his house keys, his cellular phone and his Nextel. Lt. Cortright told [redacted] that his vehicle was going to be towed [redacted] said he was upset with this, but did not raise his voice.
[redacted] said at this point, he called [redacted] who came downstairs. Both [redacted] and [redacted] agree that by then, the initial officers who had been in the unmarked car had left the scene. However, by then, two additional officers (identified from the investigation as PO Casey and PO Mardarello) had arrived. [redacted] approached PO Casey with her driver's license and asked if she could "retain the vehicle." He told her she could not, because the vehicle was going to be towed. She asked, "can you dispatch a supervisor on the scene?" They told her they could not, because the supervisor had already called for a tow truck. [redacted] then called 911 to have a supervisor dispatched. DI Essig then came back to the location and explained to [redacted] that the car was being towed because it had been double-parked, and that it didn't matter if a person was inside of it or not. DI Essig then instructed PO Casey and PO Mardarello to remove [redacted] and [redacted] from the vicinity of the vehicle. At that point, [redacted] states that she was pushed by both PO... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: September 21, 2003
Received: September 22, 2003
Closed: November 10, 2004

Reason for contact: Other
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 41st Precinct Bronx
Outcome: Parking summons issued

Witness Officers: Juan Fernandez