Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Brooklyn Family Claims Cops Scared Father-Of-Eight To Death
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 16, 2013
Modified Aug 16, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 16, 2013
Modified Aug 16, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A Brooklyn family is suing the NYPD claiming that a father-of-eight was literally scared to death by cops during a raid. Carlos Alcis, 43, died of an apparent heart attack Thursday morning around 5 a.m. after cops burst into his home on Rockaway Parkway in Brownsville. Alcis collapsed during the confrontation, and died soon after. “They scared him to death. He was healthy and fine,” Alcis’ brother, Stevenson Alcis, told the News.
The raid occurred after a 21-year-old woman had been punched in the face at the corner of Kings Highway and Rockaway Parkway by a man who took her iPhone. A good Samaritan had followed the robber to the two-story brick building where the Alcis' lived, and cops started going door-to-door to catch the thief. Cops say they knocked on their door and were allowed in, while the family disputes this, saying cops pried open their door, splintering it near the lock. Two other neighbors also told ABC that cops burst in their apartments.
Alcis' son Lissage Alcis, 21, said everyone was asleep in the apartment when they came in: “My door was closed and then the door opened and there was a flashlight in my face,” he told the News. “My father kept asking, ‘What happened? Why are you here?’” Alcis started shaking after he collapsed; cops kept searching the apartment even as blood came from his mouth.
Eventually they got his 16-year-old son Emmanuel, whom they had first questioned about the theft, to help perform CPR. The family claims it took 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach the home, and he was dead by that time. “This is a wrongful death that should never have happened,” lawyer Sanford Rubenstein said.
Cops later found the stolen iPhone in front of a nearby building on Rockaway Parkway using her Find My iPhone app; no arrests have been made in that incident.
Tagged
brooklyn
brownsville
Carlos Alcis
cops
lawsuit
nypd
police
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NJ Gov. Sherrill: Election is secure, noncitizens taken off voter rolls
The governor made the comments in the October edition of "Ask Governor Sherrill" on WNYC.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 27, 2026 at 7:42 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 27, 2026 at 11:14 p.m. ET
Ex-NYPD officer again faces murder charge in George Washington Bridge shooting
The charge against him was upgraded following an “extensive investigation,” the DA’s office said.
By
Samantha Max
News
Ex-NYPD officer again faces murder charge in George Washington Bridge shooting
The charge against him was upgraded following an “extensive investigation,” the DA’s office said.
By
Samantha Max
Former NYC buildings boss helped reopen mayor's favored restaurant despite health violations
By
David Brand
1 killed, 4 others injured at Elizabeth, NJ vigil shooting
By
Catalina Gonella
Police arrest man in Queens stabbings that ended with officer shooting woman
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .