Complaint #201509382,
October 24, 2015

Officer: Wala, Pawel
Complainant: Black Male, 30
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Formalized Training)
Officer: Wala, Pawel
Complainant: Black Male, 30
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Search (of person)
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Ramos, Porfirio
Complainant: Black Male, 30
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to process civilian complaint
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Wala, Pawel
Complainant: Black Male, 30
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Wala, Pawel Black Male, 30 Abuse of Authority: Frisk Substantiated (Formalized Training)
Wala, Pawel Black Male, 30 Abuse of Authority: Search (of person) Unsubstantiated
Unknown Officer Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Other Exonerated
Ramos, Porfirio Black Male, 30 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to process civilian complaint Unsubstantiated
Wala, Pawel Black Male, 30 Abuse of Authority: Threat of arrest 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.
'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

Wala, Pawel
No Disciplinary Action-DUP
No penalty

Summary

On October 24, 2015, around 5:30AM, [redacted] was driven to his home at [redacted] in Manhattan by a non-city-commissioned cab driver, [redacted]. [redacted] admitted to having drunk four shots of Hennessey in the hours prior to the incident. [redacted] explained that the fare was $35, but [redacted] claimed that he had ordered a Lyft cab and intended to pay by credit card. When [redacted] took this to mean that [redacted] was refusing to pay his fare, he called 911 to report this. [redacted] asked [redacted] to drive him over to the 7-Eleven shop at 246 West 23rd Street so that he could withdraw some cash from the ATM. [redacted] agreed to this and drove [redacted] to the 7-Eleven, [redacted] on West 23rd Street, between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue.
As [redacted] attempted to withdraw money from the ATM inside the 7-Eleven, four uniformed officers, PO Pawel Wala, PO Michael O'Sullivan, PO Kevin Martinez, and PO Roger Ali of the 10th Precinct, arrived at the 7-Eleven in response to [redacted]'s 911 call. When [redacted] exited the 7-Eleven, money in hand, and saw the officers, he went straight to [redacted] and threw the cash in [redacted]'s face. As it was a windy day, the cash blew into the street.
The officers then exited their vehicles and approached [redacted]. [redacted] pleaded with the officers to leave him alone and told them several times that he had done nothing wrong and that he had always intended to pay [redacted]. PO Wala asked [redacted], "Do you want to get arrested?" (Allegation A). When [redacted] continued to deny that he did anything wrong, PO Wala told [redacted] to turn around, which he did. PO Wala then rear-cuffed [redacted]. After handcuffing him, PO Wala frisked [redacted]'s pants (Allegation B). He entered one of [redacted]'s pants pockets and retrieved his wallet (Allegation C). After reviewing [redacted]'s ID, PO Wala, in consultation with PO O'Sullivan and PO Martinez, decided that [redacted] had to be taken to a hospital as he was too intoxicated to be left alone. PO... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: October 24, 2015
Received: November 3, 2015
Closed: April 1, 2016

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 10th Precinct Manhattan
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued

Witness Officers: Roger Ali, Kevin Martinez, Michael Osullivan