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Former NYPD sergeant admits to beating man in Manhattan holding cell
By
Samantha Max
Published Jul 21, 2023
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By
Samantha Max
Published Jul 21, 2023
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A former Staten Island NYPD sergeant who pleaded guilty last year to using a fake license plate to avoid toll fares pleaded guilty to a second, unrelated crime: beating a man detained inside a holding cell last year, according to court records.
Adrian Dejesus, 38, pleaded guilty to official misconduct, second-degree falsifying business records and third-degree attempted assault in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday. He's been mandated to take anger management classes.
Prosecutors said the incident started with a “verbal exchange” between Dejesus and a man awaiting arraignment in a holding cell while Dejesus was working at Manhattan Central Booking on Oct. 30, 2022.
Dejesus admitted to walking into the cell, repeatedly pushing the man against a wall, dragging him across the floor and hitting him in the face, the plea deal states. He did not report the use of force to a supervisor or fill out any paperwork, according to the plea agreement.
Dejesus was allowed to go home after pleading guilty on the condition that he attend a five-week anger management course. He also waived his right to appeal his conviction.
“Members of the NYPD work hard day and night to keep us safe, and they must make quick and difficult decisions every day,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “In an instance where misconduct does occur, we must follow the facts to ensure the law is upheld and help build stronger law enforcement and community relations.”
The former sergeant’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The NYPD also did not immediately answer questions from Gothamist. The NYPD said it had dismissed Dejesus in February.
Dejesus, who joined the department in 2007, was previously charged in Richmond County with possession of a forged instrument and falsifying business records for allegedly making a false report to the state Department of Motor Vehicles that his license plate had been stolen and then putting a fake paper plate on his car.
Andrew Crawford, a spokesperson for the Richmond County DA's office, said Dejesus pleaded guilty to a Class E felony that would later be bumped down to a Class A misdemeanor in that case if he completed 100 hours of community service and left the department. Crawford said he has completed both requirements.
Gothamist previously reported that Dejesus was suspended 25 days without pay for violating NYPD policy when he used sick days to go on vacation in Puerto Rico and then skipped a department interview related to the case. He was also disciplined several times for missing court appearances, according to a 2020 disclosure letter from the Richmond County DA’s office posted on the Legal Aid Society’s Law Enforcement Lookup database. In 2012, Dejesus pleaded guilty to filling out an inaccurate property clerk invoice, according to the letter.
Tagged
public safety
manhattan
staten island
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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