Complaint #201504826,
June 2, 2015

Officer: Meza, Eric
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Meza, Eric
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Property damaged
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Meza, Eric
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton)
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Meza, Eric
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Force: Gun Pointed
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Tomins, Raymond
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 40-44
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Meza, Eric
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 41
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Meza, Eric Hispanic Male, 41 Discourtesy: Word Exonerated
Meza, Eric Hispanic Male, 41 Abuse of Authority: Property damaged Exonerated
Meza, Eric Hispanic Male, 41 Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton) Exonerated
Meza, Eric Hispanic Male, 41 Force: Gun Pointed Exonerated
Tomins, Raymond Hispanic Male, 41 Force: Physical force Exonerated
Unknown Officer Hispanic Male, 40-44 Discourtesy: Word Officer(s) Unidentified
Meza, Eric Hispanic Male, 41 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.
'Officer(s) Unidentified': Unable to identify the officers who committed the alleged misconduct

Further details on conclusions.


Summary

On June 2, 2015, [redacted] was at the home of his girlfriend's mother, [redacted] at [redacted] in Brooklyn. At approximately 11:20 a.m., [redacted] left the apartment to move the car that he had borrowed from [redacted] a friend of his girlfriend's. [redacted] was not present during the incident. When [redacted] walked up to the front driver's door, he noticed a plainclothes officer, Det. Eric Meza, running towards him. Det. Meza was pointing his gun at [redacted] and telling him not to move (Allegation A). [redacted] attempted to flee from Det. Meza by entering his car, turning on the ignition, and shifting into drive. Det. Meza and several additional officers, identified as Sgt. Tomins, Det. Thomas Toscano and Det. Joseph Viggiano, approached the driver's side, grabbed [redacted] by his left arm and torso, and attempted to pull him out. Det. Meza told [redacted] "Get the fuck out of the car" (Allegation B). While [redacted] did not offer any direct physical resistance to the officers, he refused to relinquish his grip on the steering wheel or the gear shifter.
When [redacted] could not initially be pulled out of the car, Sgt. Tomins punched him once on the right side of his face (Allegation C). Det. Meza then went around to the passenger's side of the car and broke through the front passenger's window using his asp (Allegation D). Det. Meza then climbed into the vehicle's back seat. From there, he struck [redacted] three times on the back of the head using his asp (Allegation E).
After Det. Meza struck [redacted] in the head, the officers at the driver door were able to pull [redacted] out of the car. He landed face-down on the street, where the officers quickly placed him in handcuffs. Several officers then dragged [redacted] bodily from the street to the sidewalk. One of the officers then kicked [redacted] in the lower back (Allegation F). One of the officers then called [redacted] a "piece of shit" (Allegation G).
[redacted] was eventually charged with [redacted]. Read report for details.


Details

Incident: June 2, 2015
Received: June 12, 2015
Closed: November 18, 2015

Reason for contact: Execution of arrest/bench warrant
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 94th Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued

Witness Officers: William Brown, William Schmidt, Thomas Toscano, Joseph Viggiano
Video evidence collected