By SELIM ALGAR
Last Updated: 3:44 AM, May 28, 2012
Posted: 1:11 AM, May 28, 2012
An off-duty NYPD
cop pulled his gun on four innocent Long Island men — and then falsely accused
the group of trying to rob him, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Central
Islip.
The trumped-up
charges landed three of the men in jail for two nights, while a fourth spent
about two weeks in the clink before he was released, the suit alleges.
Officer Brian
Webber was initially hailed as a hero in the June 2011 incident — until a
Nassau County grand jury dismissed all the charges against the men “with
prejudice” toward the officer after the defendants testified in their own
defense.
It was a
stunningly strong rebuke for a law-enforcement officer — and it forms the basis
for the “false arrest” and “malicious prosecution” suit filed by Christian
Anglarill, Kevyn Bustamente, Michael Tursi, and Al Ramclam on May 8.
Three of the men
were 19 at the time of the incident; Ramclam was 21.
Webber “just made
it up,” said lawyer James Galleshaw, who represented Anglarill. “You have a
cop’s testimony against a bunch of kids. This guy’s story was so ridiculous
that the grand jury saw through it. That never happens.”
Two of the four —
Anglarill and Tursi — are suing Webber, the NYPD, and several Nassau County
cops for unspecified damages, saying they lost their jobs after the arrests.
Anglarill told The
Post that he and his three friends were walking home from a local park in Carle
Place at around midnight when Webber suddenly approached them on a bicycle and
asked them why they were near his home.
“He just rode
right up to us and started staring,” Anglarill said. “He asked us why we were
on his street. We didn’t know what was going on or who he was. We had no idea
he was a cop.”
Anglarill said
Webber suddenly pulled out a gun and attempted to grab him.
“We just ran at
that point,” he said. “A guy rides up to you and pulls out a gun, you just
run.”
Roughly an hour
later, Anglarill’s home was surrounded by Nassau County cops threatening to
kick his door down.
“I live with my
mom,” he said. “It was frightening.”
Webber told Nassau
County cops the foursome surrounded him and tried to take his backpack, the
criminal complaint shows.
“It was like a bad
dream,” Anglarill said.
The NYPD did not
respond to a request for comment. Webber refused to comment
Had enough?
Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S.
House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal hearings into
the police problem in America. Demand
mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a permanent DOJ office on Police Misconduct.