Two officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assaulting an unarmed teenager in Brooklyn. NY1′s Michael Herzenberg filed the following report.
Two police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to assaulting an unarmed teen.
David Alfanador, seen above in the blue shirt on the right, faces a felony assault charge. Tyrane Isaac, with the glasses on the left, faces a misdemeanor.
“We were troubled to see how they conducted themselves,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.
Prosecutors say surveillance video says it all. It shows 16-year-old Kahreem Tribble running from police in August, then turning to face Officer Isaac with empty hands. You can see Isaac throwing a punch.
Then, investigators say Alfanador hit Tribble in the mouth with a gun. For that, the grand jury indicted him for criminal possession of a weapon.
“We had a 16-year-old boy with his hands up seeking to surrender who was attacked by members of the force who are supposed to protect him,” Thompson said.
Thompson said internal affairs turned the case over to his office after the teen complained about his injuries in central booking.
“This is not something that we just looked at a video and said, ‘Oh, we’re going to bring an indictment.’ This is something that we looked at very thoroughly,” Thompson said.
The defense attorney for the officers, Stephen Worth, said the video doesn’t show everything and that his clients were doing their jobs.
“This is a physically larger individual who, contrary to what others have said and I’ve read, is not complying with the police officers at any time,” Worth said.
Tribble was charged with resisting arrest and possessing marijuana, but those charges were dismissed.
The father of the teen attended the arraignment but said he was too emotional to talk. His son is still recovering.
“The broken teeth, we can fix that, but the emotional damage, the psychological damage has to be dealt with,” said Amy Rameau, an attorney for the victim.
The officers also each face a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct. They have been suspended from the force for 30 days without pay. They will then return to modified duty with pay. The judge released them both on their own recognizance.
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