Complaint #200805809,
April 18, 2008

Officer: Digennaro, Joseph
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Digennaro, Joseph
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Hinteman, Timothy
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Ragoo, Jason
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Pepper spray
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Ragoo, Jason
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Rome, Douglas
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Lewis, Jolan
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Lewis, Jolan
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Rome, Douglas
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Force: Chokehold
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Digennaro, Joseph Black Male, 37 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Digennaro, Joseph Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Stop Exonerated
Hinteman, Timothy Black Male, 37 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Ragoo, Jason Black Male, 37 Force: Pepper spray Exonerated
Ragoo, Jason Black Male, 37 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Rome, Douglas Black Male, 37 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Lewis, Jolan Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Other Unfounded
Lewis, Jolan Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched Unfounded
Rome, Douglas Black Male, 37 Force: Chokehold 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 April 18, 2008, at approximately 8:00 PM, [redacted] was in a parking lot of a public housing building near Beach 42nd Street and Beach Channel Drive in Queens. [redacted] was with two of his acquaintances, [redacted] and [redacted] had double-parked his vehicle, which was a white BMW, in the parking lot. An unmarked police drove into the parking lot. There were four officers inside the vehicle, identified through the investigation as PO Douglas Rome, Sgt. Jason Digennaro, PO Jason Ragoo and PO Timothy Hinteman of the 101st Precinct. Sgt. Digennaro asked who owned the white BMW and [redacted] responded that it was his vehicle. Sgt. Digennaro requested [redacted]'s name, to which [redacted] replied that his name was '[redacted]' before handing Sgt. Digennaro his ID. Sgt. Digennaro exited the police vehicle, followed by PO Ragoo, PO Hinteman and PO Rome. Sgt. Digennaro then twice instructed [redacted] to place his hands behind his back (Allegation A). The officers surrounded [redacted] and [redacted] alleged that PO Rome then placed his hand around his neck, thus restricting his breathing (Allegation B). Sgt. Digennaro, PO Hinteman, PO Rome and PO Ragoo used physical force to bring [redacted] to the ground, where they allegedly punched and kicked him repeatedly (Allegations C, D, E and F). [redacted] asserted that he never resisted, fought back or struck any of the officers. During the struggle, [redacted] was pepper sprayed by PO Ragoo (Allegation G). [redacted] was eventually handcuffed as additional officers responded to the scene in response to a call for assistance. [redacted] claimed that he lost consciousness while being placed in a vehicle and awoke at [redacted].
Two uniformed officers, identified through the investigation as PO Vincent Caputo and PO Jolan Lewis of the 101st Precinct, were with [redacted] at [redacted]. [redacted] alleged that PO Lewis removed his clothing and examined each article, including his wallet (Allegation I). [redacted] alleged that PO Lewis then put on a pair of plastic... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: April 18, 2008
Received: April 23, 2008
Closed: January 5, 2009

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 101st Precinct Queens
Outcome: Arrest - assault (against a PO)

Witness Officers: Vincent Caputo, Frank Dichristina, Damian Merriweather, Robert Simon, Fitzroy Woodhouse