Complaint #201408177,
January 25, 2014

Officer: Smith, Latonya
Complainant: Male, 21
Allegation: Force: Pepper spray
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Smith, Latonya
Complainant: Male, 21
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Smith, Latonya
Complainant: Male, 21
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Gibson, Frederick
Complainant: Male, 21
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Smith, Latonya Male, 21 Force: Pepper spray Exonerated
Smith, Latonya Male, 21 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Smith, Latonya Male, 21 Discourtesy: Word Unsubstantiated
Gibson, Frederick Male, 21 Force: Physical force Exonerated

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.
'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.


Summary

On January 25, 2014, at approximately 1 a.m. in the Utica Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, [redacted] jumped the turnstile and did not pay his fare. As [redacted] attempted to board the 4 train, two officers in plain clothes, Sgt. Latonya Williams and PO Frederick Gibson from TB DT32, instructed him to exit the train. [redacted] complied, and Sgt. Williams identified herself as a member of the NYPD. PO Gibson told [redacted] to place his hands behind his back, at which point [redacted] tried to run away.
PO Gibson caught up to [redacted] first and made physical contact with him, preventing him from continuing to flee and allegedly causing them both to fall to the ground (Allegation A). Sgt. Williams arrived shortly thereafter, and a struggle ensued between the officers and [redacted] during which physical force was used by Sgt. Williams and PO Gibson (Allegation B). [redacted] alleges that during the struggle, Sgt. Williams stomped on his head six times (within Allegation B). During the struggle, Sgt. Williams allegedly uttered various profanities towards [redacted] (Allegation C), after which she deployed her pepper spray, which made contact with [redacted] face (Allegation D). After [redacted] was pepper sprayed, the officers were able to place him in handcuffs and he was transported to the Precinct stationhouse by a backup unit. Read report for details.


Details

Incident: January 25, 2014
Received: August 8, 2014
Closed: March 31, 2015

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - subway
Location: Subway station/train
In NYPD 77th Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: Arrest - other violation/crime