phill4paul
03-29-2014, 08:44 AM
He tried to be a good Samaritan, but a retired Correction officer says he ended up the villain in a nightmarish cop drama.
Mario Rodriguez, 69, thought he was helping cops catch a hit-and-run driver, but his courtesy got him punched out and jailed on a DWI charge.
Adding insult to injury, an inmate threatened him and stole his shoes while he stewed in a lockup for three days.
Now Rodriguez has filed a federal lawsuit accusing cops of false arrest and is seeking to recoup unspecified damages for the hell he endured.
“I was taught by my father if ever I was able to help someone, just do so because I might need help someday,” Rodriguez told the Daily News. “I’m trying to put this behind me, but I was hurt by what they did to me.”
His helpful instincts got him into trouble June 2, 2013, when he witnessed a driver crash into several parked cars in Queens.
Mario Rodriguez tried to stop a motorist from fleeing the scene of an accident but ended up getting arrested himself.
Rodriguez said that he stepped out of a Corona birthday party to check on his car, fearing it would get ticketed because his wife had parked illegally. But as bad luck would have it, that was precisely when a motorist blew through a red light at 92nd St. and Corona Ave. and slammed into the cars.
“The car was smoking and I went to see if the guy was all right,” Rodriguez said. “The guy came out of the car and hit me and knocked me down.”
The driver fled and moments later Rodriguez flagged down a cop car, tried to explain what happened and described the assailant, according to the suit filed Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
But Officer Darren Guerriere of the 110th Precinct said he was rushing to another call and asked Rodriguez to dial 911. When Rodriguez griped that the perp was getting away, Guerriere huffed, “Are you telling me what to do?” according to the suit.
The cop then asked Rodriguez if he’d been boozing.
Rodriguez acknowledged he’d been drinking at the party but insisted he wasn’t driving.
Rodriguez and his lawyer, Damond Carter, are still baffled by what happened next.
Guerriere, the suit alleges, placed him under arrest and wrote a criminal complaint saying that Rodriguez had claimed “some guy hit me when I was at the red light,” according to complaint obtained by The News.
But there was no damage to Rodriguez’s car, the suit noted.
Rodriguez was given a Breathalyzer and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.229, nearly three times the legal limit.
Mario Rodriguez says he observed a car hit parked cars at the corner of Corona Ave. and 92nd St. in Queens (pictured) and tried to get police to pursue the driver.
He was carted off to the slammer, where an inmate recognized him, threatened him and stole his shoes.
After paying the $10,000 bail, Rodriguez walked out of the lockup wearing shoes given to him by an officer.
Rodriguez, who retired from the Department of Correction in 1999 after 20 years on the job, testified before the grand jury, which believed his story and threw out the charges.
Spokesmen for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and the NYPD declined to comment because the case was dismissed and sealed.
Guerriere did not return a call for comment.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/exclusive-ex-guard-charged-driving-drunk-good-samaritan-article-1.1737513
Mario Rodriguez, 69, thought he was helping cops catch a hit-and-run driver, but his courtesy got him punched out and jailed on a DWI charge.
Adding insult to injury, an inmate threatened him and stole his shoes while he stewed in a lockup for three days.
Now Rodriguez has filed a federal lawsuit accusing cops of false arrest and is seeking to recoup unspecified damages for the hell he endured.
“I was taught by my father if ever I was able to help someone, just do so because I might need help someday,” Rodriguez told the Daily News. “I’m trying to put this behind me, but I was hurt by what they did to me.”
His helpful instincts got him into trouble June 2, 2013, when he witnessed a driver crash into several parked cars in Queens.
Mario Rodriguez tried to stop a motorist from fleeing the scene of an accident but ended up getting arrested himself.
Rodriguez said that he stepped out of a Corona birthday party to check on his car, fearing it would get ticketed because his wife had parked illegally. But as bad luck would have it, that was precisely when a motorist blew through a red light at 92nd St. and Corona Ave. and slammed into the cars.
“The car was smoking and I went to see if the guy was all right,” Rodriguez said. “The guy came out of the car and hit me and knocked me down.”
The driver fled and moments later Rodriguez flagged down a cop car, tried to explain what happened and described the assailant, according to the suit filed Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
But Officer Darren Guerriere of the 110th Precinct said he was rushing to another call and asked Rodriguez to dial 911. When Rodriguez griped that the perp was getting away, Guerriere huffed, “Are you telling me what to do?” according to the suit.
The cop then asked Rodriguez if he’d been boozing.
Rodriguez acknowledged he’d been drinking at the party but insisted he wasn’t driving.
Rodriguez and his lawyer, Damond Carter, are still baffled by what happened next.
Guerriere, the suit alleges, placed him under arrest and wrote a criminal complaint saying that Rodriguez had claimed “some guy hit me when I was at the red light,” according to complaint obtained by The News.
But there was no damage to Rodriguez’s car, the suit noted.
Rodriguez was given a Breathalyzer and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.229, nearly three times the legal limit.
Mario Rodriguez says he observed a car hit parked cars at the corner of Corona Ave. and 92nd St. in Queens (pictured) and tried to get police to pursue the driver.
He was carted off to the slammer, where an inmate recognized him, threatened him and stole his shoes.
After paying the $10,000 bail, Rodriguez walked out of the lockup wearing shoes given to him by an officer.
Rodriguez, who retired from the Department of Correction in 1999 after 20 years on the job, testified before the grand jury, which believed his story and threw out the charges.
Spokesmen for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and the NYPD declined to comment because the case was dismissed and sealed.
Guerriere did not return a call for comment.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/exclusive-ex-guard-charged-driving-drunk-good-samaritan-article-1.1737513