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Snowball 4 Surveillance Video Released
By
Jen Carlson
Published May 20, 2010
Modified May 20, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published May 20, 2010
Modified May 20, 2010
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Earlier this year four Bronx teenagers hit off-duty officer Adonis Ramirez with a snowball, and quickly found themselves on the wrong side of a gun barrel. They were charged with weapons possession, attempted assault, menacing and harassment, but then earlier this month the Bronx DA dropped those charges due to "insufficient evidence." Now some surveillance video of the incident has been released, which may help the Snowball 4, as they're called, win their $10MM lawsuit against the city.
Officer Ramirez's claim was that he was hit on the back by multiple snowballs, chased down the street and taunted before drawing his gun, but the new video (below) doesn't seem to show any of that. It does seem to show him drawing his gun just seconds after getting hit by a snowball—which may have been an accident. According to the Daily News, the teens also claim he never identified himself as an officer, and 18-year-old Minuel Rondon told ABC News, "I felt that at that moment one of us was going to get killed or shot."
Their lawyer says, "He's creating a dangerous situation by taking out his weapon. It's definitely an abuse of power and authority."
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adonis ramirez
snowball
snowball 4
snowball four
video
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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