Complaint #9900339,
January 21, 1999

Officer: Villarreal, Victor
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk and/or search
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Ebanks, Brian
Complainant: Male, 12
Allegation: Discourtesy: Nasty Words
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Gulotta, Joseph
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Villarreal, Victor
Complainant: Black Male
Allegation: Force: Physical force
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Villarreal, Victor
Complainant: Black Male
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk and/or search
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Villarreal, Victor
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Lapointe, Andrew
Complainant: Male, 12
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Lapointe, Andrew
Complainant: Male, 12
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Lapointe, Andrew
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Kelly, James
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Ebanks, Brian
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unfounded
Officer: Denesopolis, John
Complainant: Black Male
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Question and/or stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Denesopolis, John
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Question and/or stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Villarreal, Victor Abuse of Authority: Frisk and/or search Unsubstantiated
Ebanks, Brian Male, 12 Discourtesy: Nasty Words Substantiated (Charges)
Gulotta, Joseph Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Villarreal, Victor Black Male Force: Physical force Substantiated (Charges)
Villarreal, Victor Black Male Abuse of Authority: Frisk and/or search Unsubstantiated
Villarreal, Victor Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Substantiated (Charges)
Lapointe, Andrew Male, 12 Discourtesy: Word Unsubstantiated
Lapointe, Andrew Male, 12 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to obtain medical treatment Unsubstantiated
Lapointe, Andrew Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unfounded
Kelly, James Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Ebanks, Brian Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unfounded
Denesopolis, John Black Male Abuse of Authority: Question and/or stop Substantiated (Charges)
Denesopolis, John Abuse of Authority: Question and/or stop Substantiated (Charges)

Conclusion Meanings:

'Substantiated': The misconduct occurred and it violated the rules. The NYPD has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.
'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

In his CCRB interview statement, [redacted] said that on January 12, 1999, he and his son [redacted] went to pick up his other son, [redacted] and his nephew [redacted] at [redacted]. As he pulled up, he saw four men, whom he later learned to be officers, stop [redacted] and place them against the small wall in front of the house (encl. 44a). He asked them what they were doing; Officer Ebanks (as identified from a photo array on June 15, 1999) said, "Shut the fuck up" and "Mind your fucking business." Lieutenant Denesopolis (identified from a photo array on June 15, 1999 and reiterated on August 10, 1999) approached him and tapped him on the chest with his radio. Meanwhile, two officers brought [redacted] around the corner, toward [redacted] (photo #2, encl. 44a). It is unclear who these officers are, because on June 15, 1999, [redacted] stated that Officer Villarreal, Officer Ebanks and Detective Gulotta brought [redacted] around the corner. [redacted] kept asking questions and an unidentified officer said, "Shut the fuck up." [redacted] answered, "You're a fucking asshole." In front of [redacted] Officer Kelly (identified from a photo array on August 10, 1999) told [redacted] that the officers had heard a radio call of shots fired and that the boys fit the description of the suspects. On June 15, 1999 and August 10, 1999, [redacted] said that neither Officer Kelly nor his partner Officer Lapointe were in front of [redacted] when [redacted] were stopped.
In front of [redacted], Officer Ebanks approached [redacted] and handcuffed him (identified from photos on June 15, 1999 and on August 10, 1999). [redacted] asked his son [redacted] to get his car keys and his medication from his pocket. An unidentified officer said that it was all right to get the keys, but another unidentified officer said that it was not. As [redacted] took the keys and medication two officers approached him. On June 15 and on August 10, [redacted] recognized Detective Gulotta as the officer who held [redacted]'s arms, and Officer... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: January 21, 1999
Received: January 26, 1999
Closed: July 3, 2000

Reason for contact: Other
Location: Street/highway
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued