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Cop Caught On Camera Pointing Gun At Man For Filming Her
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2016
Modified Jun 6, 2016
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2016
Modified Jun 6, 2016
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David Rivera was watching a movie with his girlfriend in his Coney Island apartment on March 8th, 2015 when he heard a commotion in the hall. Rivera, who installs security systems for a living, stepped out to take a look and immediately began filming the chaotic situation with his cellphone. Within minutes, he would also be in custody, and spend the next two days in jail for daring to film the police.
In the hall, police were struggling to arrest multiple individuals. As Rivera documented the incident from what appears to be a harmless distance (again, filming the police is legal), a plainclothes officer pointed her gun at him and other cops ordered him back inside his home. When Rivera refused to close his apartment door, the plainclothes officer, a 13-year veteran named Sgt. Diana Pichardo, cursed at him, swatted the phone out of his hand, and had him arrested.
Officers subsequently searched Rivera's home without a warrant, apparently unaware that Rivera had security cameras installed throughout the home. He got it all on tape, and his attorney Jason Leventhal is sharing it with the press.
"Sgt. Pichardo broke the law and violated her oath as a police officer when she pointed her gun at Mr. Rivera, illegally seized his phone, falsely arrested him, and unlawfully searched his apartment," Leventhal said in an email today. "This rogue law enforcement officer then attempted to justify her misconduct by fabricating evidence to file charges against Rivera of felony assault on a police officer, gang assault, and resisting arrest. If Rivera had not recorded this incident, he would have faced those felony charges and the course of his life would have been changed forever."
Rivera was charged with multiple felonies, but the Brooklyn DA's office dropped the charges and a subsequent CCRB investigation further vindicated him. He now plans to sue the city for unspecified damages. Sgt. Pichardo, the News notes, has been named as a defendant in 20 federal lawsuits, and the city has paid $400,000 to settle lawsuits in which she has been named. The NYPD says the disciplinary case against Pichardo for this incident, which happened well over a year ago, is "ongoing."
In May, another NYPD officer was caught on camera pulling a gun on bystanders and assaulting a teen who attempted to film him.
Tagged
nypd
police brutality
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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