Complaint #200703619,
March 13, 2007

Summary

On the night of March 13, 2007, at approximately 9:15PM, [redacted] was standing in a small park that is located between an apartment building at [redacted] and a garage at [redacted] in the Bronx. He was accompanied by two of his friends, [redacted] and [redacted] (last name [redacted]). In a supplementary phone statement, [redacted] stated that there is a sign in the middle of the park that states that the park closes after dark (enc. 12). [redacted] did not recall the specific time that is listed on the sign, but guessed that it was either 8:00PM or 9:00PM. Despite the fact that the park was technically closed, [redacted] and his friends continued to drink beer and "hang out" in the park. They had been doing so for approximately four to five hours prior to the incident. During that time, [redacted] had two beers, but stated that he was not intoxicated.
At that time, an unmarked beige car slowly drove past the park. The beige car then backed up and came to a stop at the curb near the spot where [redacted] and his friends were standing. Officer Jaime Pedraza (whom [redacted] identified by name) and two other police officers (whom [redacted] could not identify or provide detailed descriptions of), exited the vehicle and approached [redacted] and his friends. The officers did not say anything to [redacted] or either of his friends, but one of the officers began to "search for weapons" by kicking around bags and other litter that was on the ground. Officer Pedraza then stated that he wanted to search [redacted]. Officer Pedraza and the two unidentified officers told [redacted] and his friends to walk towards the wall of the garage and to face the wall and put their hands on it. [redacted] and his friends complied. In [redacted]'s interview statement, he alleged that the two officers who he could not identify then proceeded to frisk and search his friends. The officers did not find anything that they believed to be suspicious. In [redacted]'s phone statement however, he did not mention that his friends were... Read report for details.