Complaint #202004086,
June 4, 2020

Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton)
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Needham, Sean
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical)
CCRB Conclusion: Exonerated
Officer: Unknown Officer
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Officer(s) Unidentified
Officer: Unknown Officer
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical)
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Martinez, Julio
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton)
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Martinez, Julio
Complainant: White Male, 35-39
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Unknown Officer White Male, 35-39 Force: Physical force Officer(s) Unidentified
Unknown Officer White Male, 35-39 Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton) Officer(s) Unidentified
Needham, Sean White Male, 35-39 Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) Exonerated
Unknown Officer White Male, 35-39 Discourtesy: Word Officer(s) Unidentified
Unknown Officer Abuse of Authority: Threat of force (verbal or physical) Unfounded
Martinez, Julio White Male, 35-39 Force: Nightstick as club (incl asp & baton) Unsubstantiated
Martinez, Julio White Male, 35-39 Force: Physical force Unsubstantiated

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
'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 June 4, 2020, at approximately 11:50 P.M., [redacted] arrived at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn, where a large crowd of civilians and officers were gathered. Protests against police brutality were ongoing across New York City at the time; that night, one such protest took place at the Barclays Center, approximately 1.5 miles away. Officers from multiple commands had arrived on scene in response to a radio message for assistance from Lt. Daniel Guida of the 71st Precinct regarding an incident at 320 Eastern Parkway. Many of these officers were previously stationed at the Barclays Center protest and at the 71st Precinct stationhouse in anticipation of protests occurring there. Among numerous others, officers who responded included AC Brian Conroy and Ins. Dennis Fulton of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South; DI Ludwig Romero, Capt. Tao Chen, Capt. James Hepworth, PO Sean Needham, PO Michael Hughes, PO Sohaib Rasool, and PO Clifford Scanlon of the 71st Precinct; PO Joseph Blum, PO Fabian Modesto, and PO Julio Martinez of the 67th Precinct; and Capt. Elissa Carlies of the 78th Precinct. [redacted] began filming the incident, after which time, in front of 821 Franklin Avenue, PO Needham threatened to push him (Allegation A, Abuse of Authority: [redacted]).
The crowd moved onto the roadway of Franklin Avenue, where civilians stood and shouted protest slogans, while officers faced them. Officers then advanced towards the civilians, chasing them south on Franklin Avenue while allegedly holding their batons in an upright, ready-to-hit position (Allegation B, Abuse of Authority: [redacted]). [redacted] followed several officers who were chasing one of these civilians. As [redacted] approached the location where this individual was on the ground surrounded by officers, PO Martinez and two unidentified officers pushed [redacted] with their batons and ultimately pushed him into scaffolding, causing bruising (Allegations C and D, Force: [redacted] and Allegations E and F, Force: [redacted]).... Read report for details.