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NYPD Detective Who Allegedly Used Chokehold Will Retire Without Accrued Vacation & OT Pay
By
David Cruz
Published Apr 17, 2021
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Legal Aid Society
By
David Cruz
Published Apr 17, 2021
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An NYPD detective caught on video appearing to place an Inwood man in a chokehold, a banned maneuver, has reportedly agreed to retire and stripped of all his accrued vacation and overtime pay as a result of the violent incident.
Detective Fabio Nunez will not be facing a disciplinary trial for his violent encounter with Tomás Medina that happened on July 14th, 2018 outside a car dealership, according to the New York Daily News. Nunez has instead given up his badge and gun, according to the News. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, however, recommended Nunez leave the force while stripping him of his vacation and overtime pay, which reportedly translates to $10,000 worth of accrued time. The NYPD appears to have allowed Nunez to keep his pension.
The outcome differed from an initial offer for Nunez who would have faced a disciplinary trial that would have resulted in the loss of 30 vacation days and being placed on dismissal probation, allowing the department to fire Nunez without due process if he had committed further instances of police misconduct.
According to the criminal complaint released a month after the incident, Nunez and another officer were responding to a report of loud music at the car dealership at 438 West 206th Street around midnight, when they encountered Medina standing outside. Video footage obtained by Medina's lawyers from the Legal Aid Society show Nunez and Medina exchanging words outside the dealership's driveway. According to ProPublica, Nunez was attempting to give Medina a summons for playing loud music. When Medina doesn’t have ID to show Nunez, he goes inside the lot**.** Nunez then follows him and attempts to subdue him before appearing to wrap his right arm over his neck. Medina is seen with his arms stretched out as two people look on. At one point Medina attempts to get away from Nunez, who then uses a stun-gun to subdue Medina. Eventually a crowd forms, with onlookers pulling out their cell phones to record the violent incident.
According to Medina, Nunez tells him, "I'm a cop. I'm not a human."
The incident happened four years after the death of Eric Garner shortly after being placed in a chokehold by Detective Daniel Pantaleo, raising concerns over the continued use of a maneuver that's been prohibited by the NYPD since 1993. Last year, the New York City Council passed a bill that was signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio criminalizing the use of chokeholds.
While then Chief of Department Terence Monahan said he believed Nunez acted appropriately, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates police misconduct, saw otherwise. The CCRB eventually substantiated the excessive force complaints made against Nunez, in which he "wrongfully used a chokehold" and "wrongfully restricted breathing" on Medina. The CCRB recommended Nunez face a disciplinary hearing. Nunez has had a history of CCRB complaints before his encounter with Medina, having substantiated 19 allegations falling under the category of force.
In a statement, Medina told Gothamist/WNYC that he feels "much better since this person, a police officer, will no longer have a weapon and badge to go around the streets abusing people for no reason, as he did with me."
Molly Griffard, the Legal Aid Society lawyer representing Medina, said she hopes the outcome of the case "sends a message to NYPD officers that the use of chokeholds and abuse of tasers will not be tolerated." She said she hopes officers learn officers understand that "that there will be actual consequences for engaging in such misconduct, like losing your badge and gun."
“While Detective Nunez’s departure from the NYPD is an important victory for his victims, we know there are far too many violent officers like him still on the force," Griffard added. "You don’t have to look to Minnesota or Chicago for chilling stories of police violence. Legal Aid will keep fighting to end police violence and the culture of impunity within the NYPD, but it shouldn’t take a team of lawyers and more than two years to get officers like Fabio Nunez terminated.”
Nunez's attorney, James M. Moschella, was not immediately available for comment.
Tagged
nypd
police abuse
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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