The trial of former police officer Michael Pena—who had been accused of raping a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—was a giant mess, to say the least. Chief among the problems was the fact that one of the three holdout jurors who refused to convict Pena of rape (but did convict him of predatory sexual assault) had ties to several prominent law-enforcement figures, but purposefully withheld that information. Finally, lawyer Lloyd Constantine admitted to the News that maybe, just maybe, he made a mistake in not admitting those ties initially: “I would have included a much longer list of names and somewhere in there would have been Cy Vance,” he said in hindsight. more ›

Another day, another person who is outraged and offended that former police officer Michael Pena, who had been accused of raping a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—was not convicted of rape charges. Key witness Ann Bishop, a special education teacher who testified that she witnessed Pena having sex with the victim from her bedroom window, said she couldn't believe jurors dismiss the victims own testimony as well as hers: “I know what I saw,” she told the Daily News. “I am disturbed by the fact that they didn’t come back with a guilty verdict.” more ›

An off-duty cop was charged with drunk driving after getting into an accident on the Upper East Side last night. Police say that Officer Raymond Dimaria, 35, drove the wrong way down Second Avenue and smashed into a Nissan Maxima on East 63rd Street around 1:20 a.m. more ›

More details to make your blood boil have emerged from the trial of former police officer Michael Pena, who was found guilty of three counts of predatory sexual assault for attacking a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. A juror interviewed after the judge declared a mistrial on the rape charges told the News the three holdouts didn’t take the testimony of witness Gregory Matherly seriously, dismissing him as the “skateboard witness.” “I know Greg,” said neighbor Eva Okada. “He’s not a liar. Just because he rides a skateboard doesn’t make him a liar.” more ›

We're still trying to understand exactly what happened in Manhattan Criminal Court over the past two weeks that led to former police office Michael Pena—who had been on trial for the alleged rape of a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—not getting convicted of rape, despite being convicted of three counts of predatory sexual assault. More information has leaked out about the holdout jurors: the Daily News reports that at least one juror didn't believe the victim because she could not recall the color of a car parked by the courtyard where she was attacked: “If she doesn’t remember these details, how does she know she was penetrated,” one juror said, according to their sources. more ›

For the better part of the last month, former police officer Michael Pena had been on trial for the alleged rape of a 25-year-old school teacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. Jurors heard eyewitness accounts, doctors testimony, and the victim's first-hand account of being attacked—and ultimately, Pena was found guilty of three counts of predatory sexual assault. But the judge declared a mistrial on the rape charges because of a deadlocked jury. Today, everyone is trying to make sense of what happened—but one juror has vowed to not lose any sleep over the case: “This was not fun,” juror Lloyd Constantine told reporters. “This was hard work. It was difficult, painful work...There’s no law that says a jury has to reach a verdict.” more ›

The fiancée of Michael Pena—the 28-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August—told a jury that she still loved him, and planned to marry him, during her testimony yesterday. Alma Rodriguez, 24, answered defense attorney Ephraim Savitt's questions through a translator—the Dominican Republic citizen said she understood the charges against Pena, and still loved him. She also claimed that she and Pena had sex hours before the alleged rape took place. more ›

The prosecution rested their case this week against Michael Pena, a 27-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. This came after testimony from the victim, a bartender who confirmed Pena was drinking heavily that evening, and a witness who saw Pena attacking the 25-year-old teacher. The witness described what she saw as "joyless" sex, and added, "It wasn't like 'let's sneak a quickie.'" Defense attorney Ephraim Savitt responded: "I'm sure it wasn't a quickie. I'm sure it was joyless, but she also didn't see exactly what happened." more ›

The trial for Michael Pena, a 27-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August, began yesterday. While Pena had previously implied that it was a consensual encounter—and that he was just "cheating" on his girlfriend—his lawyer took a different strategy in his opening statements: he admitted his client deserved to go to jail. “He did in fact assault her,” defense attorney Ephraim Savitt told jurors. “All those things the People will be able to prove, because they happened...This was a terrible crime, an unforgivable crime, but it does not rise to the level of the [rape] charges." more ›

On New Year's Ever, a pharmacy robbery on Long Island turned fatal when an off-duty ATF agent—and eventually an off-duty NYPD cop and an off-duty Nassau County lieutenant—confronted the suspect. John Capano, an ATF explosives specialist, was killed as was suspect James McGoey. The Nassau County police are investigating the incident, and it's possible "friendly fire" from the off-duty cops may have killed Capano. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a robbery suspect and off-duty ATF agent were fatally shot in a confrontation that also included an off-duty NYPD police officer and an off-duty Nassau County police lieutenant. The off-duty law enforcement officials were trying to stop the suspect on a Seaford, Long Island street, and it's not clear yet who fired the fatal shots. more ›

An off duty Bronx cop was arrested and charged with a DWI after a car crash yesterday that left his partner in a medically-induced coma. Officer Rafael Casiano was driving his personal vehicle on the Bronx River Parkway near the Cross Bronx Expressway around 4:30 p.m when his car skidded, hit a divider, and flipped. more ›

In late August, a 27-year-old police officer was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan. Officer Michael Pena pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced the 25-year-old schoolteacher into a courtyard behind an Inwood building at gunpoint early that morning and raped her—he even implied it was consensual, and that he was just "cheating" on his girlfriend. Today, the arresting officer testified about Pena's state that morning: "I looked at his shield and I threw it to the ground in disgust," said Officer Timothy Kraft, according to DNAInfo. more ›

Yesterday, an off-duty cop shot an ex-con with a long rap sheet during a confrontation at a Harlem subway station after two teenager girls accused him of groping them. Jacob Sanford, 22, is accused of groping the two teens on their buttocks in the subway station at 125th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue around noon yesterday. And in the ensuing struggle with the off-duty officer who arrested him, Sanford was himself shot in the butt. more ›

In late August, a 27-year-old police officer was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan. Today, officer Michael Pena pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced the 25-year-old teacher into a courtyard behind an Inwood building at gunpoint early that morning and raped her. It was also revealed today that Pena, who admitted he had been drinking that morning, implied after his arrest that the encounter was consensual. more ›

An off-duty cop has been charged with killing a man while allegedly driving drunk early Wednesday morning in the Bronx. According to police, rookie officer Luis Arnao, 25, struck Tyre Chisholm, 22, with his 2011 Honda Accord as Chisholm was crossing the street on White Plains Road near 241st Street just before 4 a.m. "He got hit hard. He flew up in the air. His shoes flew off with his socks still in them," said witness Devine Douglas. more ›

An off-duty cop was caught allegedly raping a woman at gunpoint in Inwood early this morning, according to police sources. The suspect flashed what appeared to be a police badge at the victim around 6:45 a.m., near the intersection of Park Terrace West and West 217th Street, before forcing himself upon her; witnesses who were walking by saw the rape, and called 911. "They apparently caught the guy in the act," a neighbor told the Post. more ›

An off-duty Triboro-Bridge and Tunnel Authority police officer was shot and wounded in a shootout with four would-be robbers in Brooklyn Saturday evening. The cop, Anthony Pressly, fired at them, injuring two. It was initially thought that one of the would-be robbers was dead; a witness said, "People said, 'Oh, s- -t! He's dead.' [His] body was on the other side and the police were flipping the body over." more ›

An off-duty NYPD officer was arrested and charged with a DWI yesterday after being caught passed out at the wheel of his illegally parked car in the Bronx. Police Officer Anthony Rodriguez, 27, was suspended following the incident, which took place near 183rd St. around 3 a.m. on Thanksgiving. Rodriguez refused a breathalyzer test, but officers noticed his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. According to the Post, Rodriguez pleaded guilty earlier this month to drunkenly resisting arrest at a Mets-Padres game in June. According to the News, this was the second off-duty NYPD officer arrested for DWI, and the fifty city cop booked on criminal charges this week. But we all know that Thanksgiving can do strange things to people. more ›

It sometimes seems like no good deed goes unpunished when it comes to the NYPD: Officer Adrian Schoolcraft was hounded and discredited for coming forward about quotas in the force, and several off-duty cops have gotten away with drunk driving cover-ups. Today the Village Voice reports on another such cover-up, which took the reputation and dignity away from one diligent police officer. more ›

Twelve years ago, composer, martial artist and cab driver Eric Goldin was struck by an off-duty cop and left paralyzed. The cop was never given a breathalyzer test, thanks to the officers on the scene who protected him. Multiple other DUI's later, the officer in question was off-the-force, but the cover-up of the first incident was still a stinging insult to Goldin, and one Judge made sure to call the NYPD out on it: "The statements made by this victim about a police cover-up are totally believable...and most likely occurred. It is disgusting what they did to prevent justice from being done," said Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone. more ›

An MTA Bridges and Tunnels division officer shot a man during a fight that ensued after a car accident on the Major Deegan yesterday morning. Officer Edward Aiken was on his way to work at Randall's Island when he was rear-ended by another car in the South Bronx, causing his car to hit a guardrail. A heated argument led to fisticuffs, and Aiken was outnumbered by the four passengers in the other vehicle. So he introduced them to his little friend. more ›

An off-duty police officer died after crashing his motorcycle in Queens last night. The Daily News reports, "Phil Clemens, 27, was on his was to a biker party in Astoria Park when his 2001 Suzuki GSX R600 slammed into a guardrail on the Cross Island Pkwy. just before 10 p.m. Wednesday, police and his friends said. Clemens, who was assigned to the 100th Precinct and rode with the 'Street Assassins' motorcycle crew, tried to make a turn onto the Whitestone Expwy. moments before the crash." An investigator said, "He couldn't negotiate the turn. His front wheel locked up and he went into the guardrail." more ›

After hearing gunshots, an off-duty NYPD officer tried to chase down a group of men involved in the East Harlem shooting—leading to another barrage of bullets that left one man injured. When the cop started trailing a group of men reportedly involved in a shooting near Lexington Avenue and 103rd Street last night at around 10 p.m., there was a second exchange of gunfire and a man was hit in the leg, the Daily News reports. It's unclear if the off-duty officer fired any shots. more ›

A group of pugilists roughed up five off duty cops outside a Queens nightclub on Dec. 16. The officers allegedly got into a brawl in front of the Tropix Bar and Lounge at around 4 am after an officer flashed his badge to a bouncer in an attempt to get into the Queens Boulevard venue, which was closing for the night. A group of men outside the club began shouting at the cops — who had just left a housing police holiday party — and a fight broke out, according to the Daily News. more ›

Yesterday, the AP reported that an off-duty cop was arrested for DWI in Queens—and now there are details. According to charges, the Post reports that veteran detective James O'Connell "was busted...for drunken driving after he smashed into a tollbooth at the Midtown Tunnel in Queens...[He] was allegedly driving home from a holiday party when he smacked into the lane’s gate arm at the toll plaza around 2 a.m." more ›

The off-duty NYPD cop who shot a man following a Long Island bar brawl fired the round after the altercation was over, according to the lawyer representing victim Atiba Watkins. The fight that lead to the shooting started when the 22-year-old NYPD officer, whose name has not yet been made public, got into a shoving match with the 23-year-old victim's cousin on or near the dance floor of the Irish bar Napper Tandy's in Miller Place on Thursday. more ›

An off-duty NYPD officer was arrested Sunday night after waving his gun at a group of rowdy, belligerent Rangers fans. For some reason, that's a crime, and Officer David Hendrick, a 16-year veteran assigned to the Manhattan Task Force, faces a felony charge of criminal possession of a weapon and a lesser charge of menacing. MTA cops stopped the Ronkonkoma-bound train in Mineola after several frightened passengers called 911 to report that a man had brandished a gun. more ›