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Lying Former Cop Convicted Of False Arrest Only Spends 1 Day In Jail
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 16, 2013
Modified Feb 16, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 16, 2013
Modified Feb 16, 2013
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The former NYPD officer who was convicted of falsely arresting a Brooklyn man last year was given a slap on the wrist plea deal this week—and it turns out he was given a deal on THAT plea deal as well. Former officer Diego Palacio pleaded guilty to the false arrest on Tuesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court in exchange for his resignation from the NYPD and four days in prison. But he only spent one night in jail—because, according to the Post, state law mandates that inmates are to be released on Friday if their discharge date lands on a weekend. So the man Palacio falsely arrested had to spend three days in jail, and the officer who actually did something illegal only got a day.
Last year, Palacio accused MTA engineer John Hockenjos of trying to run him over with his car after Palacio had responded to an argument between Hockenjos and his neighbor. In his report, Palacio said he was forced "to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by defendant's vehicle." Hockenjos was charged with first-degree felony reckless endangerment, and was facing a maximum sentence of up to seven years. Thankfully, a surveillance camera captured footage of the incident, and clearly showed that Hockenjos slowly pulled into the driveway, while the responding cop calmly stood still.
"In my 20 years of legal experience, I've never seen this crystal clear example of a false arrest," defense attorney Craig Newman said outside court last year. Palacio, an eight year veteran of the NYPD, was facing charges of official misconduct, offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records, making an apparently sworn false statement, perjury and making a punishable false written statement before he took the deal.
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cops
diego palacio
john hockenjos
lies
nypd
police
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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