After public protests, the two officers were indicted on assault charges and placed on restrictive duty, but a judge acquitted them. According to press reports, the officers were never disciplined.
Off- duty Incidents
The Mollen Commission report noted, “Police unions and fraternal organizations can do much to increase professionalism of our police officers…. Unfortunately, based on our own observations and on information received from prosecutors, corruption investigators, and high-ranking police officials, police unions sometimes fuel the insularity that characterizes police culture.” Criminal Prosecution
Only three city officers have been convicted for on-duty killings since 1977. Each borough’s district attorneys are quite different in their approach to police brutality cases, with some district attorneys much more likely than others to bring a case against an accused police officer, leading to an arbitrary application of the laws block-by-block in the city.
Police officials claimed Carasquillo faced the officer who shot him and took a “gun stance,” but the city’s medical examiner found that he was shot in the back. The driver of the car, according to the police, attempted to drive off as an officer questioned him, allegedly dragging the officer along. In early 1998, federal prosecutors announced their intent to pursue Livoti and the 70th Precinct officers involved in the Louima case. The CCRB’s semi-annual reports provide detailed information about each precinct’s rate of complaints.
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