| Officer: | Pekera, Gregory |
|---|---|
| Complainant: | Black Female, 39 |
| Allegation: | Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Exonerated |
| Officer: | Pekera, Gregory |
| Complainant: | Black Female, 39 |
| Allegation: | Force: Physical force |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Exonerated |
| Officer: | Pekera, Gregory |
| Complainant: | Black Female, 39 |
| Allegation: | Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Exonerated |
| Officer | Complainant | Allegation | CCRB Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pekera, Gregory | Black Female, 39 | Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest | Exonerated |
| Pekera, Gregory | Black Female, 39 | Force: Physical force | Exonerated |
| Pekera, Gregory | Black Female, 39 | Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) | Exonerated |
Further details on conclusions.
On May 4, 2003 around 9:45 PM, [redacted] and her [redacted] son were returning home from his birthday dinner at BBQ in a livery cab that they had hailed at 150th Street and Broadway. Around 148th Street, a marked police van pulled over the livery cab. Two uniformed officers, later identified as PO Mateo-Jerez and PO Melenciano approached the cab and asked the cab driver for his documentation in order to issue a summons for a missing taillight. After receiving the cab driver's information, the officers told [redacted] that it would take about 10 minutes and returned to their vehicle.
After about 10 minutes of waiting, [redacted] decided to approach the van to see how much longer they were going to be because she wanted to go home. She observed that PO Mateo-Jerez was sitting in the front passenger seat and an officer, later identified as Sgt. Pekera, was sitting in the front driver's seat. [redacted] approached the driver's side and asked Sgt. Pekera how much longer it would take. PO Mateo-Jerez courteously replied that it would probably be another ten minutes but Sgt. Pekera told her that it would take however long it needed to take and she had no right to question the officers. He also stated that [redacted] was guilty of a violation ([redacted] could not remember specifically what) because she had gotten out of the taxi and approached the van. Sgt. Pekera then said, "Do you have ID? Because you can be arrested if you don't" (Allegation A). [redacted] explained that she did not interpret this as a request for identification. She thought that Sgt. Pekera was only making a statement about what could possibly happen. She told Sgt. Pekera that the cab driver was just a citizen trying to make a living. Sgt. Pekera then warned her to return to the cab or she would be arrested. [redacted] replied that Sgt. Pekera could do whatever he wanted and began to walk back to the cab.
As [redacted] approached the door of the cab, Sgt. Pekera came up behind her and pulled her arms behind her back. He then bent [redacted]...
Read report for details.