Complaint #201801675,
January 20, 2018

Officer: Powers, Erek
Complainant: Black Female, 29
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Lovera, Abel
Complainant: Black Female, 29
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Sferrazza, Joseph
Complainant: Black Female, 29
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Powers, Erek
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Other
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Lovera, Abel
Complainant: Black Female, 29
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Vehicle stop
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Powers, Erek Black Female, 29 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Lovera, Abel Black Female, 29 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Sferrazza, Joseph Black Female, 29 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Powers, Erek Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Other Exonerated
Lovera, Abel Black Female, 29 Abuse of Authority: Vehicle stop 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 20, 2018, at approximately 4:30 PM, [redacted] was riding in his sister [redacted]'s vehicle. [redacted] was the operator. [redacted] At the intersection of Monroe Street and Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Brooklyn, PO Abel Lovera of the 81st Precinct stopped [redacted]'s vehicle (Allegation A: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). PO Lovera was with Sgt. Erek Powers and PO Joseph Sferrazza of the 81st Precinct. When [redacted] and Sgt. Powers engaged in a dispute, Sgt. Powers took [redacted] card and instructed her to report to the 81st Precinct stationhouse. [redacted] asked Sgt. Powers, PO Lovera, and PO Sferrazza for their names. However, Sgt. Powers, PO Lovera, and PO Sferrazza allegedly refused to provide their names to [redacted] (Allegation B: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]; Allegation C: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]; Allegation D: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). [redacted] and [redacted] then went to the 81st Precinct stationhouse in Brooklyn. Sgt. Powers, PO Lovera, and PO Sferrazza also responded to the stationhouse. Sgt. Powers reported his dispute with [redacted] to the acting duty captain, initiating an internal NYPD investigation regarding their confrontation.
As [redacted] waited for [redacted] at the stationhouse, Sgt. Powers obtained [redacted]'s identification card, ran [redacted]'s information in an NYPD database, and determined that there was an open warrant which he believed to be associated with [redacted]. As such, [redacted] was placed in handcuffs and was lodged in a holding cell at the 81st Precinct stationhouse until he was transported to Brooklyn Central Booking on January 21, 2018 (Allegation E: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). However, the warrant in regard to which [redacted] was detained bore the name [redacted] and not the name [redacted]. At arraignment, a judge determined that [redacted] had been detained in error and released [redacted] on his own recognizance. Read report for details.


Details

Incident: January 20, 2018
Received: March 1, 2018
Closed: December 6, 2018

Reason for contact: Moving violation
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 81st Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: Arrest - other violation/crime

Witness Officers: Nik Alix, Shawn Deluca, Jonathan Forte, Franky Joseph, Michael Petrone, Shaun Tanner, Courtney Wallace