NYPD Police Chief Absolves NYPD Detective Found to Have Used "Gratuitous" Force: Cop swore that Unarmed Latino Man had assumed a “boxer’s stance,” refused “six or seven” orders to get down, and flailed his arms, leaving him no choice but to use brutal force = all lies
/A 21-YEAR NYPD detective is under scrutiny this week for giving an unarmed, wanted man a “Gestapo-like” beating — and then allegedly evading questions about the 2008 incident. Detective David Gross swore that Neal Malangone had assumed a “boxer’s stance,” refused “six or seven” orders to get down, and flailed his arms, leaving him no choice but to use brutal force against the man.
The problem for Gross is that virtually none of that story appears to be true. [MORE]
Despite being granted prosecutorial power last year, the Civilian Complaint Review Board's authority is still derived from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. Kelly recently exercised that authority by tossing aside the CCRB's ruling that an NYPD detective used excessive force against a suspect on camera. The Daily News reports that at an NYPD hearing Detective David Goss was found not guilty of beating Neal Malangone. But Goss, a 21-year veteran of the department, was found by the CCRB to have used "gratuitous" force while arresting Malangone for throwing a garbage can through a window during a prior incident.
Goss told the CCRB that Malangone refused to submit to verbal commands and acted as if he was going to fight, but the CCRB ruled that Malangone surrendered before Goss beat him with a baton. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera.
"Det. Gross is a consummate professional who, in attempting to arrest a violent felon that refused to follow simple instructions, used the minimum amount of force necessary to effect the arrest," Goss's attorney said. Malangone is suing the city for $25 million in a federal lawsuit at a time when legal complaints against the department are at a "historical high," and cost taxpayers $185 million in 2011.
From 2002 to 2010, 92% of the CCRB's recommendations were ignored by the NYPD. In 2011, the NYPD reversed course and followed their recommendations 81% of the time, and in 2012, 72% of the time.
The Bloomberg administration has stridently opposed the City Council creating a position of Inspector General to provide independent oversight for the NYPD, claiming at a hearing in October that doing so would "curtail" the mayor's power.
