Complaint #202300350,
January 7, 2023

Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Within NYPD Guidelines
Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Question
CCRB Conclusion: Unable to Determine
Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of summons
CCRB Conclusion: Within NYPD Guidelines
Officer: Zebro, James
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Within NYPD Guidelines
Officer: Zebro, James
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Zebro, James
Complainant: Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Stelmach, Christopher
Complainant: Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Stelmach, Christopher
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Within NYPD Guidelines
Officer: Stelmach, Christopher
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Officer: Haynes, Lester
Complainant: Black Male, 30-34
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Threat of summons
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Command Discipline B)
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Haynes, Lester Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Stop Within NYPD Guidelines
Haynes, Lester Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Question Unable to Determine
Haynes, Lester Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Haynes, Lester Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Haynes, Lester Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Threat of summons Within NYPD Guidelines
Zebro, James Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Stop Within NYPD Guidelines
Zebro, James Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Zebro, James Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Stelmach, Christopher Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Improper use of body-worn camera Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Stelmach, Christopher Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Stop Within NYPD Guidelines
Stelmach, Christopher Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Failure to provide RTKA card Substantiated (Command Discipline A)
Haynes, Lester Black Male, 30-34 Abuse of Authority: Threat of summons Substantiated (Command Discipline B)

Conclusion Meanings:

'Substantiated': The misconduct occurred and it violated the rules. The NYPD has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.
'Unable to Determine': The alleged conduct was investigated but could not determine both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules.
'Within NYPD Guidelines': The conduct occurred but did not violate the NYPD's own rules, which often give officers significant discretion.

Further details on conclusions.


Penalties

Haynes, Lester
Closed: Retained, with discipline, July 24, 2024
APU Closed: Retained, with discipline
Forfeit vacation 5 days

Zebro, James
Command Discipline - B
Command Discipline - B (Vacation: 1 day)

Stelmach, Christopher
Command Discipline - B
Command Discipline - B (Vacation: 1 day)

Summary

On January 7, 2023, at approximately 10:27 PM, [redacted] and his sister, [redacted] left a birthday party at the [redacted] Church located at [redacted] in Brooklyn. [redacted] walked west on New Lots Avenue with an empty glass pudding jar in his hand. [redacted] saw his bus drive by him westbound on New Lots Avenue, threw his glass pudding jar in the street, and ran after the bus. PO Lester Haynes, PO James Zebro, and PO Christopher Stelmach of the 75th Precinct drove west on New Lots Avenue alongside [redacted] and PO Haynes allegedly asked [redacted] if he was trying to evade the bus fare. The officers stopped and exited their vehicle, approached [redacted] at the corner of New Lots Avenue and Wyona Street without activating their Body-worn cameras, and PO Ross allegedly asked [redacted] if he had identification, and if he had consumed alcohol (Allegation A – Abuse of Authority: [redacted] (Allegations B, C, and D – Abuse of Authority: [redacted] (Allegations E, F, and G – Abuse of Authority: [redacted] PO Ross then told [redacted] that he was going to issue him a summons for littering (Allegation H - Abuse of Authority: [redacted] and for open container (Allegation I – Abuse of Authority: [redacted] PO Haynes, PO Zebro, and PO Stelmach returned to their police vehicle and left the scene without offering [redacted] a business card (Allegations J, K, and L - Abuse of Authority: [redacted] Read report for details.


Details

Incident: January 7, 2023
Received: January 13, 2023
Closed: February 14, 2024
Last Updated: August 16, 2024

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 75th Precinct Brooklyn
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued

Witness Officers: Brandon Toles, Isidro Valdez
Body-Worn Camera evidence collected
Video evidence collected