NYPD cop stomped on man’s head during arrest like he was a ‘roach’ he intended to kill, prosecutor says
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-stomped-man-head-roach-prosecutor-article-1.2615267
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 3:52 PM
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The trial for an NYPD officer accused of stomping on a man’s head while trying to arrest him began Tuesday with strong opening statements from both sides.
Officer Joel Edouard’s action was like “stomp(ing) on a roach that you intend to kill,” prosecutor Marc Fliedner told the room inside Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Fliedner described the cop as “fueled by his own blind and uncontrolled anger” when he allegedly cuffed and then attacked Jahmiel Cuffee during a marijuana-related arrest on July 23, 2014.
Edouard’s lawyer hit back, telling Judge Alan Marrus that Cuffee resisted arrest and acted like someone grabbing for a gun.
Cuffee was “reaching into the small of his back” when cops tried to subdue him, the defense attorney said.
The arrest was filmed by witness Gary Dormer, who also testified Tuesday.
The prosecutor argued that the video shows Edouard, 38, losing his cool and getting progressively rougher with Cuffee, Fliedner said.
Edouard “decided he wanted to harm him (Cuffee) because he was angry, and that's what he did,’ the attorney said.
Edouard also unnecessarily took out his gun moments after stomping on Cuffee’s head.
“He removed his service weapon from the holster and pointed it at Mr. Cuffee's head,” said the lawyer.
COURTESY GARY DORMERThe video shows Officer Joel Edouard, a seven-year veteran of the force, make a stomping motion at Jahmiel Cuffee’s head after the man was subdued in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“Mr. Cuffee started to cry out to folks on the street, 'Help me!’” Fliedner said.
He said Edouard lost his cool when he saw the incident being filmed.
Defense attorney Anthony Ricco said the prosecutor’s version of events didn’t show the full picture of what happened.
Cuffee's injuries were “all as a result of his own struggles in the street with the officers,” Ricco said.
He was “smoking weed” and “drinking public” when cops approached, the lawyer pointed out.
“Mr. Cuffee resisted arrest ... by force,” he said.
“While the officers were trying to cuff him, you will see him ... reach into the small of his back,” the lawyer said.
While Cuffee, 33, later said he was going for his marijuana, Ricco told the room it was impossible for the cops to know what was in Cuffee’s mind.
“Those officers have no idea (why Cuffee is) reaching into the small of his back,” he said.
“He’s taking something from his person that he doesn't want these officers to see or get," he added.
JEFF BACHNER/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSDefense attorneys argued Cuffee acted like he was grabbing for a gun when he was arrested.
He also disputed Fliedner’s assertion that Edouard got increasingly aggressive during the encounter.
“Officer Edouard was not angry, not bitter, was very much in control, yells at (Cuffee) to stop,” Ricco said.
Prosecutors also called Dormer, 30, to the stand to testify about what he saw while filming the arrest.
Dormer was working at a jerk chicken joint and serving Cuffee when Edouard and another cop approached and asked Cuffee for his ID, the witness said.
“I seen an aggressive officer grab Mr. Jahmiel Cuffee,” Dormer said of Edouard.
“He grabbed him as if he was a child who was being disciplined for something he done wrong,” the witness said.
Dormer admitted that Cuffee appeared to be resisting the officers’ attempts to arrest him — but he decided to start filming anyway.
He said he saw Edouard take out his service revolver and and point it at Cuffee’s face.
“(Edouard) looked me directly in my eyes at the time ... and he immediately put away his firearm,” Dormer said.
He testified that Edouard walked away as more officers appeared to help subdue Cuffee.
COURTESY GARY DORMERThe prosecutor described the cop as “fueled by his own blind and uncontrolled anger” when he allegedly cuffed and then attacked Jahmiel Cuffee during a marijuana-related arrest on July 23, 2014.
“As they showed up, Mr. Edouard walked up to Mr. Jahmiel Cuffee and stomped on his head,” Dormer said.
Under cross examination, Dormer admitted he saw Cuffee and another man in a gray jacket exchange something moments before the arrest.
Ricco had argued in his opening statement that cops had no way of knowing if Cuffee and the man exchanged marijuana or a gun.
“I seen that exchange of hands,” Dormer acknowledged.
Ricco also asked if he filmed the moment Edouard allegedly stepped on Cuffee’s head — and if so, how many times Cuffee’s head hit the ground.
“Yes, it's very much obvious and visible,” Dormer said. “I only witnessed his head hit the ground once.”
Cuffee was initially charged with evidence tampering, obstruction and resisting arrest, but the case against him was dropped by prosecutors in late 2014, records show.
He also filed a $25 million notice of claim that fall, signaling his intention to sue the city, the NYPD and officers involved, according to court papers.
Edouard was placed on modified duty after the incident. But official misconduct charges against him were dropped last summer.
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson chose to pursue the misdemeanor assault charge, however.
“This defendant allegedly stomped on the head of a suspect as he lay on the ground, which is unacceptable for a police officer,” he said at the time.
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