“It went from left to right into Michael Mineo’s butt crack.”
An NYPD officer took the stand Monday in Brooklyn Supreme Court to testify against one of his own in a case where Police Officer Richard Kern has been accused of using unnecessary force and sodomizing on a suspect during an arrest back in October 2008.
Officer Kevin Maloney, 27, informed the jury that Kern had shoved a retractable baton into the backside of the suspect, Micheal Mineo. The action then proceeded further and made a grim turn as the weapon was probed into his rectum.
According to Maloney, about a ½ inch to an inch of the baton was out of sight after being jammed into Mineo’s underwear.
The incident in question began when Mineo was chased and tackled for smoking marijuana in the Prospect Park subway station.
Maloney described, to the court, the events that occurred after the suspect was stopped and being placed into custody.
“I saw Officer Richard Kern have it placed on Michael Mineo’s buttocks.
It was pressed on Michael Mineo’s left buttock … there was pressure being applied.”
While serving a major blow to the defense for Kern, Maloney stated that his testimony was only a reaction after hearing that Kern’s co-defendents, Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales, after hearing that there was investigation being done on Cruz under suspicion of the sodomy and realized that the wrong officer was the target.
Cruz and Morales have been charged with covering up the assault.
Mineo, 25, is currently suing the city for $440 million for the incident, but has been accused of lying to receive a lump payback. According to the plaintiff’s story, close to seven inches of the baton went into his rectum and was hit three to four times by the object. He added that he hadn’t resisted arrest and the actions of the officer left him hobbling.
Maloney stated that he was witness to none of Mineo’s account,
While the other two officers may have dodged a potential knockout to their cases, Kern is facing five to 25 years for aggravated sexual abuse.
