Veteran NYPD Sgt. Diana Pichardo was well known in the Coney Island, Brooklyn streets after patrolling the area for years, but now she faces disciplinary action from the force. Sgt. Pichardo was caught on video pointing her gun at a bystander who filmed her during an arrest outside his apartment hallway.
The New York Daily News unleashed an exclusive report regarding Pichardo and the man who filmed her, David Rivera. As noted in the article, Rivera was inside his apartment on March 8, 2015, when he heard noises in the hallway. Pichardo and other NYPD officers were clashing with three other suspects when Rivera began to videotape the exchange. Rivera’s actions which are legal were done from a relatively safe distance, but he caught the ire of Pichardo.
From the NYDN:
Rivera, 45, was watching the film “50 Shades of Grey” with his girlfriend on March 8, 2015 when he heard a commotion in the hallway at the Marlboro Houses. He saw three neighbors fighting with cops and began recording the action with his phone.
Additional officers, led by Pichardo, arrived and helped subdue the goons. Pichardo is shrieking into her portable radio, then inexplicably points her gun at Rivera who can be heard saying, “Don’t point that gun at me!”
Rivera was ordered by a cop to go back inside his apartment. He is still recording from inside the doorway when Pichardo rushes up to him.
“Who are these people to you?” she yells at Rivera. “Give me the phone, motherf—–!”
From there, officers illegally searched Rivera’s home and arrest him. Unknown to the officers, Rivera works in the security camera business and had devices around his home filming the NYPD’s unlawful entry. The footage from Rivera’s phone and his apartment cameras will be entered as evidence in a lawsuit that Rivera intends to file in Brooklyn Federal Court this week.
Pichardo, who earned the nickname Pocahontas in Coney Island, has been connected with a total of $400,000 in settlement payouts due to her harsh police actions.
The initial charges against Rivera that he assaulted an officer were found to be bogus by way of the footage he captured.
This is the most recent case of a police officer aiming their service weapon at a bystander videotaping them.
[h/t Gothamist]
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Photo: screen cap/NYDN
