| Officer: | Rodriguez, Eric |
|---|---|
| Complainant: | Hispanic Male, 23 |
| Allegation: | Force: Physical force |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Substantiated (Charges) |
| Officer: | Rodriguez, Eric |
| Complainant: | Hispanic Male, 23 |
| Allegation: | Discourtesy: Word |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Unsubstantiated |
| Officer: | Palumbo, Peter |
| Complainant: | Hispanic Male, 23 |
| Allegation: | Discourtesy: Word |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Unsubstantiated |
| Officer: | Giudice, Antonell |
| Complainant: | Hispanic Male, 23 |
| Allegation: | Discourtesy: Word |
| CCRB Conclusion: | Miscellaneous - Subject Resigned |
| Officer | Complainant | Allegation | CCRB Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodriguez, Eric | Hispanic Male, 23 | Force: Physical force | Substantiated (Charges) |
| Rodriguez, Eric | Hispanic Male, 23 | Discourtesy: Word | Unsubstantiated |
| Palumbo, Peter | Hispanic Male, 23 | Discourtesy: Word | Unsubstantiated |
| Giudice, Antonell | Hispanic Male, 23 | Discourtesy: Word | Miscellaneous - Subject Resigned |
Further details on conclusions.
On the morning of October 31, 2010, the station booth clerk at the 42nd Street D station noticed a man who was sleeping on the steps leading down to the subway platform beyond the turnstiles and called the police. Two officers, PO Eric Rodriguez and PO Kenneth Farrell, arrived and approached the man, who had fallen asleep in the station after spending the evening out with friends. The officers woke the man up told him to leave the station. The man asked the officers what he had done wrong, but did climb the stairs to the turnstile level of the platform.
At that point he took out his phone, claiming that he wanted to take a picture of the officer's badge and to call a lawyer. What happened next was entirely captured by MTA footage. PO Rodriguez used his body to block the man's progress, wrapped both arms around him and threw him into the subway turnstile. The man's face struck the side of the turnstile and he landed face down on the station floor. PO Farrell, standing nearby, reached down to try to break the man's fall. While the man lay prone on the floor, PO Rodriguez walked over and lifted the man's arm, at which point the man lifted himself to a kneeling position. PO Rodriguez then put his arms under the man's armpits, lifted him "firefighter style" and walked him through the emergency gate before again dropping him to the ground.
The man eventually had to have two surgeries on his face to recover from the injury sustained by being thrown against the turnstile.
Before viewing the MTA video, PO Rodriguez stated that when they were a few feet from the turnstile, the man spoke aggressively and reached into his jacket pocket. Stating that he feared for his safety, PO Rodriguez stated that he pushed the man away when the man reached in his jacket, and that the man fell backwards on the floor but sprung right back up and threatened PO Rodriguez. PO Rodriguez said that as the man got up, PO Rodriguez grabbed his jacket and tried to push him through the turnstile, but the man slipped and fell. He denied ever...
Read report for details.