Complaint #200802673,
February 16, 2008

Officer: Napolitano, Thomas
Complainant: Black Male, 27
Allegation: Force: Gun as club
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Napolitano, Thomas
Complainant: Black Male, 27
Allegation: Force: Pepper spray
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 18-20
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 25-29
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 25-29
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 25-29
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 25-29
Allegation: Force: Gun Pointed
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Rouse, Thomas
Complainant: Black Male, 27
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical)
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Napolitano, Thomas Black Male, 27 Force: Gun as club Unfounded
Napolitano, Thomas Black Male, 27 Force: Pepper spray Exonerated
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 18-20 Abuse of Authority: Stop Unfounded
Unknown Officer Black Male, 25-29 Abuse of Authority: Stop Exonerated
Unknown Officer Black Male, 25-29 Force: Physical force Unfounded
Unknown Officer Black Male, 25-29 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Unknown Officer Black Male, 25-29 Force: Gun Pointed Exonerated
Rouse, Thomas Black Male, 27 Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) Unfounded

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.
'Unfounded': Evidence suggests that the event or alleged conduct did not occur.

Further details on conclusions.


Summary

On February 16, 2008, at approximately 11:30 PM, [redacted] walked from his girlfriend's apartment at [redacted] to Logan Street in Brooklyn with his brother, [redacted]. [redacted] stopped at a house with an unknown street number on Logan Street to speak with some of his relatives. Afterwards, [redacted] and [redacted] continued walking on Logan Street towards Linden Street when they were stopped by approximately five police officers, identified by the investigation as PO Thomas Napolitano, PO Matthew Menze, PO Vito Nicoletta, PO Thomas Rouse, and PO Edward Mulhearn of the 75th Precinct (Allegation A and Allegation B). In his statement to IAB, [redacted] said that he was stopped by officers when he walked past a red car. The officers had their guns pointed (Allegation C). Some of the officers told [redacted] to put his hands up, some of the officers told [redacted] to put his hands down. An unidentified officer searched [redacted] and asked him to leave the scene, which he did. [redacted] did not make allegations regarding [redacted] in his statements to IAB. An officer, identified by the investigation as PO Rouse, told [redacted] that he would murder him (Allegation D). PO Rouse was pointing his gun at [redacted] put his hands up and said, "I'm not doing anything." The officers screamed at him, asking where the murder weapon was. [redacted] responded, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Then, PO Napolitano hit him five times on the right side of his face with a gun, hitting his forehead and lip (Allegation E). Officers were holding him against the car when they handcuffed him.
Once [redacted] was cuffed, he was thrown to the ground and pepper sprayed (Allegation F). [redacted] did not see which officers sprayed him or threw him to the ground. After he was pepper sprayed, [redacted] was punched and kicked in his torso and legs (Allegation G). He couldn't see which officers were involved because of the pepper spray. He estimated that he was punched and kicked more than ten times. [redacted] told the CCRB... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: February 16, 2008
Received: February 21, 2008
Closed: June 11, 2009

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - auto
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 75th Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: Arrest - resisting arrest

Witness Officers: Sean Downes, Matthew Menze, Edward Mulhearn, Vito Nicoletta, Paul Viar