Cop Who Karate Chopped NY Judge In Throat Gets Off Scot-Free Chris | InformationLiberation
Remember the Judge who came upon an "unruly" crowd angry over police abusing a suspect and called 911 to "help" police get backup, only to be singled out himself by a raging cop who proceeded to assault him by chopping him in the throat? If you remember, he was a huge supporter of police, “I’ve always had profound respect for what they do,” he told the New York Times. Turns out, now that he's the one in the victim's seat, he's had a change of heart. In fact, he says he's now "amazed" how multiple police lied about what took place, he says his beating and the ensuing cover-up is "really changing my view of the force."
Via The Huffington Post:
No criminal charges will be filed against an NYPD officer accused of violently striking a New York state Supreme Court justice in the throat in an unprovoked attack earlier this summer, the Queens district attorney said Wednesday.
Judge Thomas Raffaele, who reported the alleged assault, called the DA's decision "shocking" and accused the NYPD officers involved of lying to cover up their misconduct.
"For this to happen, for me to be attacked by a cop -- and for the cops to do this huge cover up -- it's really changing my view of the force," Raffaele told The Huffington Post.
Raffaele said he is strongly considering filing a lawsuit against the police department over the alleged attack. "It may be that there is no other option," he said.
In a statement, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said his office lacked the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer "intentionally and unjustifiably" struck the judge.
"We find that there is insufficient evidence of criminality to support a charge that the police officer acted with intent to injure," Brown said.
The alleged assault on the judge happened as police officers were restraining a man who was reportedly chasing people with a metal pipe on a Queens street around midnight in early June.
Raffaele said he came upon two officers restraining the man and called 911 to request that more police respond to the scene, where a large group of people was gathering. The officer allegedly repeatedly drove his knee into the detained man's back, the judge said, causing some in the crowd to shout at him.
At that point, Raffaele said the officer flew into a rage, began screaming obscenities and randomly attacked several people in the crowd. He said he was hit in the throat with a military-style open hand chop that sent him to the hospital for the night.
"This was not some little punch or shove," he said. "It was an all-out military blow to my larynx."
Raffaele said that supervisory officers at the scene refused to take his complaint of being assaulted.
In June, the NYPD said that its internal affairs bureau was working with the Queens DA's office to investigate the judge's claims.
That investigation cleared the officers involved in the episode of criminal conduct.
"After an extensive and thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances of the matter -– that included multiple witness interviews and reviews of police reports and medical records -– my office has concluded that the facts do not warrant the filing of criminal charges," Brown said.
The matter will now be referred to the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board and to the NYPD "for any possible violation" of NYPD rules or procedures.
Brown said that his office had "no opinion" as to whether any administrative or procedural violations took place.
Raffaele criticized the DA's investigation as half-hearted and said that witnesses to the incident were not interviewed for nearly two months, and only after he complained about the slow progress of the probe.
He also accused several NYPD officers of lying about the events by saying that he had behaved "aggressively" toward them.
"I was really amazed that two or three of them lied about it," he said. "It's really damaging to the respect that I've had all my life for the police department."
You obviously never walked through each of the city neigborhoods and like a typical non-Schenectadian have no idea how bad they are, and believe that Downtown IS Schenectady. In reality Downtown is about 1% of Schenectady. The neighborhoods are in utter ruins and there are never publicity shots for those. Of course you would have to have a tie to the neighborhoods, or own property in one of them or two of them to understand this level of decay. What used to be a middle class town 20 years ago has become nothing but a slum. You spend any time you have in the 4 square blocks of Downtown and believe the propaganda. You should go talk to Marv Cermak if you want to understand the situation better. You obviously have less than zero for a clue.
Enjoy those rose-tinted glasses, dude. Schenectady has been struggling for as long as I can remember it. I'm not just talking about downtown. And you want to talk about crime? Back then, even the cops were criminal. But far be it for me to argue with your recollections from yesteryear. So OK. Schenectady was a booming trouble-free metropolis that was driven into the ground after Y2K. The schools were awesome. The neighborhoods were awesome. Downtown was awesome. And I have a bridge I'd love to offer you for a low, bargain-bin price...
Again, you offer no refutation to me asserting that you have either no connection to the city, or were not around 15-25 years ago to see the quality of the RESIDENTS and the lifestyle decrease. You keep mentioning the 1% of the city that is downtown. Why? Do you not WANT To take a drive or walk through the side streets of the neighborhoods?
Now as to rose colored glasses... Pot, meet kettle.
The city has neighborhoods. This may shock you if you are in the power elite or are an opinion maker, but they do exist. If you are a 20 something from Vermont or Long Island, all you understand is that there is Downtown Schenectady and that is all you get, or digest in your limited reality. Let me tell you a fact: the city has neighborhoods that in scope of size and population represent about 99% of the city as compared to your hallowed DOWNTOWN.
What you DON'T get is that 20 or so years ago and more the living quality of the residential and small commercial neighborhoods were decent and liveable. That murderous and low-life pitbull people were not in full command of every block, that the streets and infrastructure of the various neighborhoods were reasonably maintained and that there was an actual middle class of mostly law abiding and respectful people living there.
None of that can be said anymore, greenhorn. I know you close your ears to harsh things really fast, greenhorn. And I know you don't want to hear anything from a political conservative like me so I have a solution for you- look up a gent and journalist named Marv Cermak, and get educated on it. He can take you to school and wake you up from your caffeine powered cheerleading fit for the power brokers, and set you back down to earth as to reality in this town- where it has been, where it is and where it looks to be going,
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
and a bunch of histrionic silliness on this site. Police can stop, frisk, and kill anyone they want...really, seriously really?
When young cops are in a bad mood, their abusiveness to the citizenry knows no bounds. I guess you haven't even been in the shoes of a citizen without a badge, huh?
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
When young cops are in a bad mood, their abusiveness to the citizenry knows no bounds. I guess you haven't even been in the shoes of a citizen without a badge, huh?
Absolutely true.
The one thing that has greatly reduced abuse is the fact that almost all actions are now recorded.
Brutal LAPD arrest caught on video; Department investigating cops seen bodyslamming nurse twice during cell phone traffic stop (VIDEO) The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating two officers who were allegedly caught on surveillance camera slamming a nurse on the ground twice — and then fist bumping afterward — during a recent traffic stop.
The two officers pulled over Michelle Jordan, 34, of Sunland, Aug. 21, for allegedly talking on her cell phone while driving in Tujunga, in northeast Los Angeles, the department said.
Jordan pulled into the parking lot of a Del Taco restaurant and got out of her car to confront the officers, cops said.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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