Man Testifies on Police Acts in Subway

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Source: Kareem Fahim, The New York Times

On the witness stand in court Monday morning, finally with a chance to tell his side of the story officially, Michael Mineo yelled, just as he said he did that day in October 2008 when police officers swarmed around him in a Brooklyn subway station.

He said had he yelled to everyone who passed by that the officers had stuck something in his rectum and had implored, “Help me!” In court, Mr. Mineo used more of a stage scream, but it was startling enough.

His graphic, confident testimony came on the second day of the trial, in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, in which Officer Richard Kern faces accusations that he repeatedly rammed a retractable baton between the buttocks of Mr. Mineo, who was 24 at the time and had been strolling down the street smoking marijuana. Two other officers, Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales, face charges that they helped cover up the assault.

Over an hour of direct questioning by the lead prosecutor, Charles Guria, Mr. Mineo spoke in a deep, calm voice that rarely broke, laying out his version of the disputed events of Oct. 15, 2008. Later Monday he was expected to return to the stand for vigorous questioning by the three lawyers defending the officers, who already made his character and background issues in their opening arguments last week.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/nyregion/26mineo.html