Named in 5 known lawsuits, $265,500 total settlements.
Villegas, Mario vs City of Ny, et al.
Case # 815787/2024E,
Supreme Court - Bronx, October 2, 2024
Complaint
Description: On April 4, 2023, Plaintiff, Mario Villegas ("Plaintiff") was lawfully in the vicinity of St. Lawrence Avenue and Gleason Avenue, Bronx,NY and doing nothing illegal, improper or acting suspicious in any way. Detective Edgar Guerrero, Detective Tomor Berisha, Detective William Sanchez, and Police Officers John Doe and John Roe (hereinafter, the "Defendants") absent an arrest warrant, probable cause, reasonable cause or any legal justification, and based on fraud, perjury and misrepresentations, approached Plaintiff for no reason and summarily stopped, searched, grabbed assaulted, battered and detained him in an aggressive and excessive manner. Plaintiff was arraigned after his arrest and thereafter falsely and m...
Jones, Robert vs City of Ny Et. al.
Case # 818738/2022E,
Supreme Court - Bronx, March 23, 2023, ended December 26, 2024
$32,500 Settlement
Complaint
Description: On November 16, 2019, Plaintiff was lawfully present near 2010 Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx, New York when Defendant Officers demanded that Plaintiff and others move down the block away from the area. As Plaintiff obeyed and was leaving the area, Defendant Officers approached Plaintiff, grabbed and forcefully pushed him to the car repeatedly. Defendant officers then threw Plaintiff to the ground and forcefully thrusted knees, fists, and elbows into his back and body, preventing him from breathing, even though he did not resist arrest in any way. Plaintiff was placed in unreasonably tight handcuffs and was lifted off the ground by the chain of the handcuffs, causing severe injuries to his shoulders, arms, and wrist...
Banks, Shantese vs City of Ny, et al.
Case # 804287/2022E,
Supreme Court - Bronx, March 24, 2022, ended June 21, 2023
$28,000 Settlement
Complaint
Description: On May 4, 2021, at approximately 1:36 PM, in the vicinity of 1440 Sheridan Avenue, Bronx County, N.Y. Shantese Banks was falsely arrested, unlawfully imprisoned and illegally searched and seized plaintiffs without probable cause by the defendant, NYPD Police Officer Tomor Berisha. P.O Beshira falsely claimed that Ms. Banks was in criminal possession of stolen property. In arresting Ms. Banks, P.O. Beshira and other defendants committed multiple assaults and batteries to her person and applied handcuffs.
Ms. Banks was then transported by the defendants to the 43rd NYPD Precinct, Bronx County, N.Y., where she was illegally searched, questioned, photographed and fingerprinted. P.O. Beshira then signed a criminal ...
Brathwaite, Joel vs City of New York, et al.
Case # 020173/2019E,
Supreme Court - Bronx, January 17, 2019, ended May 4, 2020
$115,000 Settlement
Complaint
Description: On January 17, 2018, police officers Jeffrey Heilig, Tomor Berisha, Echevarria, and Doe falsely arrested Joel Brathwaite III. Brathwaite was properly walking from #2 Train Station at 180th St. of Bronx and to his home 1936 E Tremont Ave of Bronx. The officers suddenly called out to Brathwaite and informed him that a robbery occurred nearby. They then began searching Brathwaite without his consent. When Brathwaite tried to leave, Brathwaite was subject to a chokehold, fired a taser, and was hit with a blunt object. Upon hitting the ground, he was continued to be assaulted by all the officers: he was tased again, kneed, and punched around his body and head.
While being detained, Brathwaite felt severe back pain ...
Gonzalez, Crystal & Laboy, Joshua vs City of New York, et al.
Case # 303573/2015,
Supreme Court - Bronx, September 18, 2015, ended July 12, 2017
$90,000 Settlement