Complaint #201504022,
May 19, 2015

Officer: Barnes, Erin
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 45
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Sgambati, Matthew
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 14
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Barnes, Erin
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 45
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Plume, William
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 14
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Sgambati, Matthew
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 45
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat to damage/seize property
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Barnes, Erin Hispanic Male, 45 Force: Physical force Unfounded
Sgambati, Matthew Hispanic Male, 14 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Barnes, Erin Hispanic Male, 45 Abuse of Authority: Other Unfounded
Plume, William Hispanic Male, 14 Abuse of Authority: Stop Unsubstantiated
Sgambati, Matthew Hispanic Male, 45 Abuse of Authority: Threat to damage/seize property 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.
'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 May 19, 2015, at approximately 9:07 p.m., numerous officers responded to a shots fired radio call in the vicinity of [redacted] in Manhattan. Among the responding officers were PSA5 officers PO William Plume and PO Vincent Tulipano. PO Plume and PO Tulipano observed a group of 10 to 12 individuals walking towards their unmarked vehicle. Among this crowd was [redacted] year old [redacted] who PO Plume observed moving his hands inside the waistband of his shorts. PO Plume exited his vehicle, approached [redacted] identified himself as a police officer, and told him to stop (Allegation A). [redacted] responded by running and PO Plume pursued on foot while putting out a radio call that he was in foot pursuit of a fleeing suspect. Det. Erin Barnes and Det. Mathew Sgambati of the Manhattan North Gang squad, who were driving in the area, heard this radio call and observed PO Plume chasing [redacted]. Det. Barnes drove their vehicle in front of [redacted] and parked. Det. Sgambati then got out of the vehicle, ran toward [redacted] and tackled him in front of [redacted] (Allegation B). PO Plume then caught up with and assisted Det. Sgambati in handcuffing [redacted]. The tackle caused [redacted] to sustain a small cut to his forehead. The tackle was witnessed by [redacted] and his friend [redacted] who were eating outside of a nearby quesadilla stand.
A large crowd of civilians and officers then converged on the scene. After [redacted] was detained in handcuffs, [redacted] arrived on the scene and began filming with his cell phone. [redacted]
After approximately 10 to 15 minutes, [redacted] was escorted to a vehicle by PO Plume. [redacted] moved up right next to where the officers were walking by in order to get a better angle for filming [redacted]. Observing [redacted]'s movement, Det. Barnes instructed [redacted] to step back at least twice. [redacted] told Det. Barnes that he was standing a reasonable distance away. Det. Barnes then allegedly swung his right arm out and struck [redacted] in the chest, causing... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: May 19, 2015
Closed: November 18, 2015

Reason for contact: Other
Location: Other
In NYPD 25th Precinct Manhattan
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued

Witness Officers: Javish Acevedo, Randolph Holder, Agustin Rodriguez, David Rodriguez, Vincent Tulipano
Video evidence collected