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Alleged NYPD Subway Sodomites Appear in Court
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 10, 2008
Modified Dec 10, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 10, 2008
Modified Dec 10, 2008
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Here's a lede you don't see every day, courtesy the NY Times: "A New York City patrolman used his baton to sodomize a man in a subway station, and two complicit colleagues helped him cover it up, the Brooklyn district attorney charged on Tuesday as he unsealed indictments against three police officers. Using graphic detail, the district attorney described an attack that he said left the man, Michael Mineo, with a gashed anus and blood on his hands." (We'll miss you when you're gone, paper of record.)
The accused officers appeared in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday for the arraignment, during which D.A. Charles Hynes charged that immediately following the subterranean violation, Mineo showed officers the blood only to be ignored. Officer Richard Kern, the sodomite in question, allegedly told him "that if he reported the circumstances to anyone, he would be arrested and charged with a felony." Hynes also compared the incident to the other notorious NYPD anal rape, that of Abner Louima 11 years ago, and he took pains to make sure the jury understood "the comparison, is that the allegation that an instrument in each case was shoved up someone’s anus." Got it!
The Daily News has it that a plainclothes cop in the courtroom yesterday called Mineo a faggot, to which he responded by blowing a kiss. At a press conference later, Hynes told reporters that Kern, age 25, could be sentenced to 25 years in prison. Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales have been charged with hindering prosecution and official misconduct for allegedly covering up the incident. Cruz's lawyer insists the D.A. doesn't "even have a paper-thin case." And Police union chief Patrick Lynch says the public should withhold judgment until the jury reaches a verdict: "We have earned the benefit of a doubt with our blood and sacrifice."
Tagged
brooklyn da
indictment
michael mineo
police brutality
richard kern
subway platform
subway sodomy
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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