Complaint #200812182,
August 13, 2008

Officer: Fusco, Thomas
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Caputo, Jason
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Caputo, Jason
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Caputo, Jason
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Search (of person)
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Caputo, Jason
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Caputo, Jason
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 23
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Question
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 21-24
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 21-24
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 21-24
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Fusco, Thomas Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search Exonerated
Caputo, Jason Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Vehicle search Exonerated
Caputo, Jason Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unfounded
Caputo, Jason Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Search (of person) Exonerated
Caputo, Jason Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Frisk Exonerated
Caputo, Jason Hispanic Male, 23 Abuse of Authority: Question Exonerated
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 21-24 Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest Unfounded
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 21-24 Discourtesy: Word Unfounded
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 21-24 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number 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 August 13, 2008, at approximately 10:30 PM, [redacted] left his residence, [redacted] in Brooklyn, and walked to the intersection of [redacted] and [redacted]. [redacted]'s fiancée, [redacted], had legally parked her Lexus RS300 sports utility vehicle at this intersection. [redacted] sat in the driver's seat of [redacted]'s vehicle to make a telephone call on his cellular phone. The vehicle's engine was not running and the keys were not in the ignition. An unmarked police vehicle parked behind him and an officer, identified through the investigation as PO Jason Caputo from the 75th Precinct, walked to the driver's side of [redacted]'s vehicle. [redacted] described PO Caputo as a white male who was about 5'5" tall, muscular, had short hair, a tattoo of a foreign flag on his bicep and was in plainclothes. In his written complaint to the CCRB (encl. 3a – 3b), [redacted] stated that four officers approached his driver's side window.
PO Caputo asked [redacted] what he was doing (Allegation A). [redacted] did not specify whether he replied. PO Caputo then asked him to step out of his vehicle. [redacted] told PO Caputo to 'identify himself.' PO Caputo responded that he was an officer and again asked him to step out of the vehicle. In his written complaint to the CCRB (encl. 3a – 3b), [redacted] stated that multiple officers told him to, "Shut the fuck up and put your hands on the car!" [redacted] did not mention this in his interview with the CCRB (encl. 5a – 5d). [redacted] stepped out of [redacted]'s vehicle and then walked to the rear of the vehicle at PO Caputo's instruction. PO Caputo frisked [redacted] at the rear of the vehicle by patting him down along the outside of his clothing (Allegation B) and then felt inside the pockets of his jeans and removed their contents (Allegation C), which included a wallet and his cellular telephone. [redacted] did not specify whether he had any additional items in his pockets. [redacted] asserted that he repeatedly asked for PO Caputo's name during this process, which PO... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: August 13, 2008
Received: August 21, 2008
Closed: July 30, 2009

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

Witness Officers: Domenico Colavito, Michael Gmelch, Jennifer Lavelle