Complaint #201407692,
July 26, 2014

Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 40-44
Allegation: Force: Pepper spray
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Dinuzzo, Robert
Complainant: Black Male, 19
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unsubstantiated
CCRB Board Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Dinuzzo, Robert
Complainant: Black Male, 19
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unsubstantiated
CCRB Board Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 18-20
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Board Conclusion
Unknown Officer Black Male, 40-44 Force: Pepper spray Officer(s) Unidentified
Dinuzzo, Robert Black Male, 19 Force: Physical force Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unsubstantiated
Dinuzzo, Robert Black Male, 19 Abuse of Authority: Other Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
CCRB Investigator Recommendation: Unsubstantiated
Unknown Officer Black Male, 18-20 Force: Physical force Officer(s) Unidentified

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.

Further details on conclusions.


Penalty

Dinuzzo, Robert
No Disciplinary Action-DUP
No penalty

Summary

On July 26, 2104, at approximately 9 p.m., [redacted] left a cookout, [redacted] (or Soute), [redacted] at Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan, with his friends [redacted] and his friends were headed toward the intersection of East 125th Street and Madison Avenue when they observed a large group of individuals arguing. The group was composed of members of two different religious organizations, [redacted]. The argument eventually escalated to fighting between the two organizations, at which point a large number of officers from several commands responded to the scene. At some point, an officer, identified via investigation as PO Robert Dinuzzo from Police Service Area 5, approached [redacted] and allegedly repeatedly punched him in the face (Allegation A). PO Dinuzzo eventually brought [redacted] down to the ground, where [redacted] was restrained on his stomach by PO Dinuzzo and multiple unidentified officers. While on the ground, an unidentified officer allegedly pressed one of his knees on the head of [redacted] causing one of [redacted]'s teeth to chip against the ground (Allegation B). One of [redacted]'s acquaintances, [redacted] was also present from the initiation of the dispute and was also arrested. At another point, an unidentified officer allegedly discharged pepper-spray at civilians, including [redacted] friend who was only identified as '[redacted] and other unidentified members of the crowd (Allegation C). Later, [redacted] was handcuffed, transported to the 25th Precinct stationhouse, and then transported to [redacted] was released without any charges against him (Allegation D). Read report for details.


Details

Incident: July 26, 2014
Received: July 29, 2014
Closed: July 1, 2015

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 25th Precinct Manhattan
Outcome: Arrest - other violation/crime

Witness Officers: Keerandai Bhawanideenjamna, Christopher Ciccolo, Jon Derise, Levon Holley, James Lombardi, Kevin Smith, Frankie Soler, Christopher Treubig
Video evidence collected