Complaint #202101338,
January 20, 2021

Summary

On January 20, 2021, at approximately 2:00 p.m., [redacted] stopped his vehicle behind an unmarked vehicle at a red light at the intersection of Ralph Avenue and Avenue K, in Brooklyn. [redacted] was in the right lane, about to make a right turn. One unmarked black Ford SUV with tinted windows was behind [redacted] and another was on [redacted]s left. Police Officer Michael Panetta, Police Officer Timothy Commander, Police Officer Harry Cruz, Police Officer Thomas Matera, Police Officer Anthony Caravana and Lieutenant Brian Schulman of the 63rd Precinct exited the vehicles. PO Panetta approached the driver's seat (Allegation A: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). PO Panetta allegedly asked for [redacted]s identification (Allegation B: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). Lt. Schulman instructed PO Cruz to tell [redacted] to exit and step to the rear of the vehicle (Allegation C: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). PO Commander told [redacted] to exit the vehicle and patted him down (Allegation D: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). PO Cruz patted [redacted] down (Allegation E: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). PO Cruz and PO Panetta searched the vehicle (Allegations F and G: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). [redacted] asked why he had been stopped multiple times throughout the incident and was not given an answer. PO Panetta, PO Commander, PO Cruz, and Lt. Schulman failed to provide business cards to [redacted] or [redacted] (Allegations H-K: Abuse of Authority, [redacted]). This incident did not result in any arrests or summonses. Read report for details.