Complaint #200702497,
February 15, 2007

Officer: Esposito, Vincent
Complainant: White Male, 33
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Lee, James
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Gun Drawn
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Lee, James
Complainant: White Male, 33
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Property damaged
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: White Male, 30-34
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 25-29
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Alleged Victim Uncooperative
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Esposito, Vincent White Male, 33 Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched Exonerated
Lee, James Abuse of Authority: Gun Drawn Exonerated
Lee, James White Male, 33 Abuse of Authority: Property damaged Substantiated (Charges)
Unknown Officer White Male, 30-34 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 25-29 Force: Physical force Alleged Victim Uncooperative

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.
'Substantiated': The misconduct occurred and it violated the rules. The NYPD has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.

Further details on conclusions.


Penalty

Lee, James
No Disciplinary Action-DUP
No penalty

Summary

On February 15, 2007, at approximately 6:30PM, [redacted] were inside of [redacted]'s blue Toyota Celica in Queens. They exited the Long Island Expressway via the 69th Street and 59th Drive exit. Once they were off the expressway, Officer James Lee approached [redacted]'s vehicle with his gun drawn (Allegation A). [redacted] began to flee in his vehicle, so Officer Lee drew his asp from his person and struck the rear window on the passenger side of [redacted]'s vehicle, causing it to break (Allegation B). [redacted] headed the wrong way down a one-way street, at the end of which, [redacted] allegedly saw flashing lights. It was at that time that [redacted] realized that he was being chased by the police. [redacted] allegedly stopped his vehicle and as he did so, a van lightly struck it from behind. [redacted] remained in his vehicle with his hands in the air as Sergeant Kearney and Detective Donovan approached the driver's side door. Several other officers exited their vehicles and approached [redacted]'s vehicle. Two to four police officers, including Sergeant Kearney and Detective Donovan, opened [redacted]'s driver's side door and dragged him out of the vehicle. An unidentified officer then allegedly punched [redacted] in the face two or three times. Between all of the officers present, [redacted] alleged that they punched him in the face anywhere from ten to fifteen times (Allegation C). [redacted] was then placed chest-down onto the ground, at which time an unidentified officer allegedly kicked him in the back of the head. At one point, [redacted], who was also on the ground, attempted to speak with [redacted], but an unidentified officer allegedly kicked him in the face (Allegation D). [redacted] were eventually placed into the prisoner van and were transported to the 104th Precinct. Once at the precinct, Detective Esposito allegedly strip-searched [redacted] (Allegation E). [redacted] received numerous charges, including criminal sale of a controlled substance, assault, and resisting arrest. As a result... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: February 15, 2007
Received: February 21, 2007
Closed: June 19, 2008

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 104th Precinct Queens
Outcome: Arrest - other violation/crime

Witness Officers: Robert Anderson, Edgar Bayas, Michael Donovan, Donald Haines, Robert Hawkins, Craig Kearney, Raymond Paltoo