Complaint #201403108,
April 1, 2014

Officer: Leonardi, David
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical)
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Leonardi, David
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Melo, Juan
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Melo, Juan
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to process civilian complaint
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 60-64
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 60-64
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Leonardi, David
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Leonardi, David
Complainant: Black Male, 62
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Leonardi, David Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) Unsubstantiated
Leonardi, David Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Melo, Juan Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment Unsubstantiated
Melo, Juan Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to process civilian complaint Unsubstantiated
Unknown Officer Black Male, 60-64 Abuse of Authority: Strip-searched Officer(s) Unidentified
Unknown Officer Black Male, 60-64 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment Officer(s) Unidentified
Leonardi, David Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Stop Substantiated (Charges)
Leonardi, David Black Male, 62 Abuse of Authority: Other Substantiated (Charges)

Conclusion Meanings:

'Officer(s) Unidentified': Unable to identify the officers who committed the alleged misconduct
'Substantiated': The misconduct occurred and it violated the rules. The NYPD has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.
'Unsubstantiated': or 'Unable to Determine' - The alleged conduct was investigated but could not determine both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules.

Further details on conclusions.


Penalty

Leonardi, David
Forfeit vacation 18 days
Closed: Resolved by plea, January 24, 2017
APU Guilty
Forfeit vacation 18 days

Summary

On April 1, 2014 at approximately 6:45 p.m., [redacted] saw his nephew, [redacted] in the vicinity of a restaurant located at 306 Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Brooklyn. The two exchanged verbal greetings, hugged and spoke for a minute more before parting and walking in opposite directions. [redacted] continued walking to the restaurant where he spent fifteen minutes ordering food, before walking back towards his residence at [redacted] in Brooklyn, holding a box of pizza.
At approximately 7:15 p.m., Sgt. David Leonardi and PO Andrew Ho of the 79th Precinct stopped [redacted] outside of his residence (Allegation A) and handcuffed him. In doing so, an officer, identified by the investigation as Sgt. Leonardi, allegedly pushed [redacted] up onto an adjacent iron fence, such that the middle of his chest pressed into the iron spikes on the top of the fence. [redacted] asked why he was stopped and Sgt. Leonardi responded, "You just bought some drugs." [redacted] said that he also asked only Sgt. Leonardi for his shield number, and Sgt. Leonardi allegedly replied, "Y'all think if you ask for someone's badge number, we're just gonna get scared" and did not provide his shield number (Allegation B). When the officers placed him in the unmarked vehicle, [redacted] who sat leaning forward, said "Damn these cuffs are hurting!" to which Sgt. Leonardi allegedly said, "You ain't feel nothing yet." In the vehicle, Sgt. Leonardi also allegedly said, "I'm going to break every bone in your face" (Allegation C).
During his sworn statement on April 3, 2014, [redacted] initially said that there were only two officers within the vehicle, but later changed his statement to say, that he sat next to another officer, whom he described as "a Dominican officer." During their statements at the CCRB on July 3, 2014 and August 19, 2014, PO Ho and Sgt. Leonardi stated that they were the only officers who transported [redacted] to the stationhouse.
When they arrived at the 79th Precinct stationhouse, [redacted] stated that an unidentified... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: April 1, 2014
Received: April 2, 2014
Closed: June 25, 2015

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 79th Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: Summons - other violation/crime

Witness Officers: Arnold Chow, Eduardo Cornejo, Andrew Ho, Terrence Howard, Jamaal Miller