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Video Shows Cops Brutally Beating Man During LI Traffic Stop
By
John Del Signore
Published May 6, 2014
Modified May 6, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 6, 2014
Modified May 6, 2014
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A Westbury, Long Island man will sue Nassau County after a routine traffic stop on April 25th swiftly turned into a brutal beatdown at the hands of two police officers. Kyle Howell sustained a broken nose, bone fractures near both eyes and facial nerve damage as a result of the beating, which he says was unprovoked. After he was released following his hospital arraignment, Howell and his father obtained this security camera video showing the stop:
Police initially pulled Howell over for a cracked windshield, and he was subsequently charged with marijuana possession and criminal possession of a controlled substance, after a small baggy in the vehicle allegedly tested positive for cocaine residue. He was also charged with assault and evidence tampering. Police say Howell tried to eat the bag of marijuana to dispose of it before his arrest, but Howell insists he was just chewing gum.
"My paycheck started to fly out the door," Howell said at a press conference today. "I went to go reach for it, and the next thing you know, I got a knee to the face. Then the next thing I remember, I was in the hospital...You can see the damage that happened."
Howell, who was arrested twice in 2012 for marijuana possession and petit larceny, claims he had a previous encounter with one of the officers, who allegedly warned him after a January traffic stop not to record him with his cell phone camera. According to Howell, during that stop the officer told him, "The next time you record me I will use physical force to stop you." When the officers approached his vehicle during the most recent stop, he says he was already taking video with his cell phone, and the officer made good on his promise.
The Nassau County police Internal Affairs division has launched an investigation into the arrest, and local prosecutors have also launched a probe. Both officers, who each earn over $140,000 a year, have been placed on modified duty, Newsday reports.
Tagged
kyle howell
long island
nassau county
westbury
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
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