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Cops Cough Up $5K For That One Time They Dumped Shoeless Teen In SI Swamp
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 25, 2012
Modified Jun 25, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 25, 2012
Modified Jun 25, 2012
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Two NYPD officers have agreed to pay $5,000 each to make amends for that one time they decided to punish an egg-throwing teen by taking his shoes and shirt and dumping him in a Staten Island swamp. Back in 2007, officers Richard Danese and Thomas Elliassen collared a 14-year-old boy who was throwing eggs at cars on Halloween. Double-dipping as judge and jury, the cops drove the teen to a swamp and allegedly kicked him repeatedly before abandoning him there without his shirt and shoes.
The victim, Rayshawn Moreno, ended up walking a mile along railroad tracks to get help. Danese and Elliassen claimed that they swung back around to pick up Moreno, but they couldn't find him. They subsequently pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges, and the teen later filed a civil lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court. That cost taxpayers $140,000 in a settlement to be paid out by the city, and officers Danese and Elliassen have agreed to cut checks for $5,000 each.
But after all that, it seems the officers' attempt to teach the young lad a lesson didn't quite have the intended effect. The Daily News reports that Moreno has been arrested at least eight times since then for a variety of crimes, including robbery, weapons possession and drugs, and in March he was charged with shooting a man in the leg on Staten Island. Danese and Elliassen, meanwhile, are still on the force. “New Yorkers should be alarmed that the two men who committed this crime against a 14-year-old still wear the NYPD shield," Moreno's lawyer tells the News.
For further insight, we turn to the cop message board NYPD Rant, where one perceptive observer wonders, "Does the media EVER report a story without overly negative descriptions to further demonize cops ? THERE IS NO FVCKING SWAMP where the kid was dropped off. It's staten island, not the Everglades." Nope, definitely no fvcking swamp on Staten Island!
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nypd
staten island
swamp
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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