phill4paul
01-29-2014, 11:09 AM
Obviously the cop's being fearful for life outweighs a citizens same fear.
This was a long time coming: Five young men are suing a Bronx transit cop who pulled a gun on them in 2010 after he claimed they attacked him with "multiple" snowballs; and in court today, the officer admitted that the then-teenagers in fact hit him with just one single snowball.
Officer Adonis Ramirez, 34, was off-duty when he pulled his loaded handgun on the group of teenagers during a snowstorm in February 2010, alleging the teens struck him with several snowballs, taunted and threatened him while he walked to his car. Four of the teenagers—dubbed the "Snowball Four"—were arrested for weapons possession, attempted assault, menacing and harassment, but a few months later the charges against them were dropped thanks to "insufficient evidence."
The teens have since filed a $10 million false arrest claim against Ramirez and the NYPD, and in court today Ramirez recanted his initial allegation that the young men pelted him, admitting that they hit him with "one" snowball. "They did what kids always do, they throw snowballs at each other," the plaintiffs' attorney, Neil Wollerstein, said, according to the Daily News. "A single snowball is lobbed in the most innocent and playful fashion...[and] the lives of these young kids changed forever."
Surveillance video from the time of the incident showed Ramirez pulling his gun on the teens after being hit by one snowball; at the time, the teens told reporters that Ramirez had never identified himself as an officer, and said they feared for their lives. "I felt that at that moment one of us was going to get killed or shot," then 18-year-old Miguel Rondon told ABC News.
http://gothamist.com/2014/01/28/officer_who_pulled_gun_on_snowball.php
This was a long time coming: Five young men are suing a Bronx transit cop who pulled a gun on them in 2010 after he claimed they attacked him with "multiple" snowballs; and in court today, the officer admitted that the then-teenagers in fact hit him with just one single snowball.
Officer Adonis Ramirez, 34, was off-duty when he pulled his loaded handgun on the group of teenagers during a snowstorm in February 2010, alleging the teens struck him with several snowballs, taunted and threatened him while he walked to his car. Four of the teenagers—dubbed the "Snowball Four"—were arrested for weapons possession, attempted assault, menacing and harassment, but a few months later the charges against them were dropped thanks to "insufficient evidence."
The teens have since filed a $10 million false arrest claim against Ramirez and the NYPD, and in court today Ramirez recanted his initial allegation that the young men pelted him, admitting that they hit him with "one" snowball. "They did what kids always do, they throw snowballs at each other," the plaintiffs' attorney, Neil Wollerstein, said, according to the Daily News. "A single snowball is lobbed in the most innocent and playful fashion...[and] the lives of these young kids changed forever."
Surveillance video from the time of the incident showed Ramirez pulling his gun on the teens after being hit by one snowball; at the time, the teens told reporters that Ramirez had never identified himself as an officer, and said they feared for their lives. "I felt that at that moment one of us was going to get killed or shot," then 18-year-old Miguel Rondon told ABC News.
http://gothamist.com/2014/01/28/officer_who_pulled_gun_on_snowball.php