Deadlocked jurors in the subway sodomy civil lawsuit reached an impenetrable impasse yesterday after four days of deliberations. After receiving several notes from the jury about their blockage, Federal Judge Jack Weinstein declared a mistrial, which makes this the second mistrial in Michael Mineo's civil lawsuit against NYPD officers accused of sodomizing him with a police baton after he resisted arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in 2008. Earlier this year, a jury acquitted three of the cops, but they deadlocked on a verdict for Officer Richard Kern, whose baton had Mineo's DNA on it. more ›

Michael Mineo's $440 million lawsuit against the NYPD—which accused cops of sodomizing him with a retractable police baton while arresting him in a Brooklyn subway station—was shot down yesterday by a federal civil jury. Not only was the tattoo artist/body piercer denied any settlement money, but the judge ordered him to pay the legal fees for three of the four cops he sued. Attorneys for the officers estimate their fees to be in excess of $100,000. In short, Mineo's pretty much screwed and tattooed. more ›

Though a grand jury acquitted three police officers of participating in the sodomy of Michael Mineo in the Prospect Park subway station two years ago, Mineo is pushing forward with his civil lawsuit against the city. Yesterday, he took the stand to tell his side of the sodomy story to the jury, and naturally the Post was there to avidly jot down notes: more ›

awyers for the man who accused NYPD officers of sodomizing him as he resisted arrest in a Brooklyn subway station have filed papers in federal court alleging that police investigators tampered with a crucial piece of evidence: their client's boxer shorts. One of the pivotal moments in the criminal trial—which resulted in the acquittal of all three cops—came when an NYPD fiber expert testified that the officer's police baton, or ASP, "could not have possibly made the hole in this underwear. This is a square hole." more ›

Although a jury found three NYPD officers not guilty of participating in the sodomy of a Brooklyn man in a subway station in 2008, the alleged victim's civil lawsuit is going forward. Plaintiff Michael Mineo has named Officers Richard Kern, Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales as defendants in the $400 million dollar suit against the city, but in a surprise move, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association is trying to add another cop to the list of defendants. The PBA wants Officer Kevin Maloney, who broke ranks to testify against three fellow cops at their criminal trial, named as a defendant. more ›

After three police officers were acquitted yesterday on charges that they participated in the sodomy of a Brooklyn man during his arrest in 2008, jury forewoman Jamie Dove (a photographer) explained the verdict: "It was just reasonable doubt. Things weren't consistent. Stories were changing from the grand jury testimony to what he said he saw... He used different words. He went from 'rammed' to 'side to side.' So he wasn't sure about what was done to him." And another juror, Stevan L. Miller, told the Times the prosecution's case had "so many holes" that "the defense didn’t have to do anything." more ›

The three police officers accused of sodomizing a man inside a Brooklyn subway station were found not guilty this morning by a Brooklyn jury, the Post and City Room are reporting. Despite testimony from a transit cop who says he witnessed the assault, Officer Richard Kern has been acquitted on all counts of sexually assaulting Michael Mineo with his police baton during an arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in 2008. Two other officers, Andrew Morales, 27, and Alex Cruz, 28, were found not guilty of helping cover up the crime. more ›

Alleged subway sodomy victim Michael Mineo worries his case will end with a hung jury. Already, he says he’s scared to “go out.” Jurors for his case have proved hard to handle—some didn’t understand what constituted “reasonable doubt” and one was booted after she told the group he’d heard one of Mineo’s accused assailants had prior convictions for police brutality. According to the Daily News, Mineo aired his fears at Rev. Al Sharpton’s rally yesterday and got support from the minister/talk show host. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Yesterday was the first full day of deliberations in the trial of three NYPD officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a man during his arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in 2008. And it doesn't look like this verdict is going to come smoothly; at the end of the day the jurors asked to be "educated" about what constitutes "reasonable doubt." And earlier one of the jurors was schooled for telling the others that Officer Richard Kern, who's accused of aggravated sexual abuse and assault, had prior convictions for police brutality. more ›

After two days of closing arguments from defense lawyer Richard Murray (during which the judge asked him to stop rambling), prosecutors are closing out the trial of three officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a man during his arrest in 2008. Prosecutor Charles Guria insisted this afternoon that Michael Mineo is the victim here, and derided the defense's claim that he self-inflicted his anal injuries in order to sue the city. "Before there were lawsuits, Michael Mineo was showing blood on his hands," Guria reminded jurors today, City Room reports. more ›

Today Officer Richard Kern, accused of using his retractable police baton to sodomize a man resisting arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in 2008, took the stand to defend himself. "I did pull out my expandable baton, better known as an asp," Officer Richard Kern told the jury. "It was not open. It was in my right hand." Then Kern's defense attorney John Patten asked the multi-million dollar question: "Did you at any time while you had the asp in your hand stick it up Mr. Mineo's rear end?" more ›

It gets crowded for a DNA strand up on a police baton! Today a DNA expert from the chief medical examiner's office testified that Michael Mineo's blood and DNA could not be definitively linked to the retractable police baton, or ASP, that Officer Richard Kern allegedly used to sodomize Mineo after he resisted arrested in a Brooklyn subway station in October 2008. Criminologist Sarah Philipps said that she found DNA from three sources on the ASP, and that Mineo was "included as a possible contributor to this sample." But because the other DNA was mixed with the sample, she could not confirm a match, NY1 reports. It was a different story with Mineo's boxers, however. more ›

Yesterday 26-year-old NYPD Officer Kevin Maloney broke the blue wall of silence and corroborated allegations made by a Brooklyn man who claims he was sodomized by cops during an arrest in a subway station in 2008. Maloney testified, "I see Richard Kern has a metal retractable baton, known as the Asp, out. I saw Officer Richard Kern have it placed on Michael Mineo’s buttocks." Maloney witnessed a half inch or an inch of the baton disappeared in "Mineo’s butt crack," and testified that he later saw Mineo pull his hand from out of his pants and show the officers his bloody hands. But despite witnessing all this, Maloney kept his mouth shut for days. more ›

During testimony today, a transit cop broke ranks and testified that he witnessed an NYPD officer sodomize a man during an arrest in the Prospect Park subway station in October 2008. Officer Kevin Maloney, 27, told jurors he saw Officer Richard Kern use his retractable baton to sexually assault suspect Michael Mineo, who had tried to run away from cops who caught him smoking a joint outside the station. "It was pressed on Michael Mineo's left buttock... I saw [the baton] move from left to right," Maloney said. "I saw it move from left to right into Michael Mineo's butt crack... Yes, there was pressure being applied." more ›

Today prosecutors called officer Noel Jugraj to testify in the trial of three other NYPD officers accused of participating in or covering up the sodomy of a Brooklyn man in the Prospect Park subway station in October 2008. Jugraj is not charged in the case, but he is the partner of one of the accused cops, Officer Alex Cruz. It's unclear if his testimony will help the prosecution much, because Jugraj claims he did not see his colleagues pull down Michael Mineo’s pants or sodomize him with a retractable police baton during his arrest. He also thinks that when Mineo screamed that cops violated him, he didn't mean physically. more ›

Today, for the first time, defense attorneys for three NYPD officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a Brooklyn man in the Prospect Park subway station got to cross-examine the alleged victim. During his second day of testimony, Michael Mineo reportedly became irate and emotional on the witness stand, and tempers flared from the very first question posed by defense lawyer Stuart London: "Good morning. You didn’t get stoned today before you came to court, did you?" more ›

The 25-year-old man who says NYPD officers sodomized him with a police baton after he resisted arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in October 2008 testified today. Two officers are accused of helping to cover up the brutality of another officer, Richard Kern, who is charged with aggravated sexual abuse and assault. In court this morning, the alleged victim, Michael Mineo, acknowledged he was a former gang member and said he ran from police who caught him smoking pot after they told him he was going to be arrested. Mineo's account of what happened when they caught up to him in the Prospect Park subway station is harrowing: more ›

The trial of three NYPD officers accused of covering up one officer's alleged sodomy of a drug suspect in the Prospect Park subway station got underway yesterday. In opening arguments, lawyers for the cops portrayed Michael Mineo, 25, as an opportunistic scam artist who inflicted the wounds on himself to sue the city for millions. "He's trying to scam the people of New York City," said John Patten, the lawyer for Officer Richard Kern, who is accused of sodomizing Mineo with his retractable police baton. According to Patten, Mineo injured himself while handcuffed: "He was digging, digging, digging into his backside" and may have caused a "superficial laceration to his rear end." more ›

Days after his arrest while sitting in a playground restricted to adults with children, alleged police-sodomy victim Michael Mineo has blasted NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, accusing him of lying about the collar. Browne had told the press that Mineo was arrested Monday night only after he argued with police who ordered him to leave the playground; the NYPD says that dispute led to cops checking his ID and discovering a warrant for his arrest (related to a community service snafu). But Mineo, who believes cops are harassing him because he's embarrassing the department with his sensational sodomy accusations, tells the Daily News, "They never even asked me to leave, never, it's just not true. They just handcuffed me and put me in the car." His lawyer adds, "We're going to add that incident and that statement to the federal lawsuit. It shows a pattern and practice of harassment." Mineo has filed a $220 million federal suit against the city and three officers are under indictment for the October 2008 incident. more ›

The man whom cops allegedly sodomized in a Brooklyn subway station last October says police are still on his tail. 24-year-old Michael Mineo claims he was innocently relaxing on a bench in a Canarsie playground Monday night when two squad cars arrived and arrested him. "I wasn't doing nothing," Mineo tells the Daily News. "I was just sitting on the park bench talking to a friend. They knew who I was. Of course they did." Mineo is suing the city for $220 million over the alleged sodomy, and three officers are under indictment. But the cops who arrested Mineo Monday are from a different precinct, and police spokesman Paul Brown insists that they only arrested Mineo after he refused to leave and they discovered a warrant for his arrest. Mineo's lawyer Stephen Jackson says the warrant popped because Mineo mixed up the dates on a court appearance last week and failed to certify completion of community service for a prior assault arrest. Jackson agrees that cops are targeting Mineo, telling the News, "Of course they knew who he was. I think two squad cars shows premeditation." more ›

Whether or not a jury finds NYPD officer Richard Kern guilty of sodomizing tattoo artist Michael Mineo with a baton after he resisted arrest in the Prospect Park subway station in October, the incident could cost tax payers as much as $200 million. Aside from the criminal case being prosecuted against Kern and two other officers, Mineo is pursuing compensation for his injuries in civil court, where his lawyers have filed a notice of claim seeking $200 million in damages from the city, the NYPD, and the officers involved. In an exclusive, NY1 reports that officials are currently evaluating the legal papers... and wondering how they're going to come up with that kind of money. more ›

Here's a lede you don't see every day, courtesy the NY Times: "A New York City patrolman used his baton to sodomize a man in a subway station, and two complicit colleagues helped him cover it up, the Brooklyn district attorney charged on Tuesday as he unsealed indictments against three police officers. Using graphic detail, the district attorney described an attack that he said left the man, Michael Mineo, with a gashed anus and blood on his hands." (We'll miss you when you're gone, paper of record.) more ›

Early this morning, the three police officers facing charges related to allegations that they beat and sodomized a man on a subway platform turned themselves in to the Brooklyn DA's office. The three will be arraigned this afternoon. DA Charles Hynes detailed the indictments against the cops: Police Officer Richard Kern was indicted on charges including "aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree, assault in the first degree, and hindering an investigation" while "Andrew Morales and Alex Cruz were also charged with hindering the investigation." more ›

It turns out that DNA evidence helped a grand jury decide to indict three officers accused of beating and sodomizing a Brooklyn man. The Post reports that "tests confirmed" that DNA from accuser Michael Mineo (pictured) "was found on a piece of [Officer Richard] Kern's equipment used in the alleged assault." The indictment will be unsealed tomorrow; it's said that Kern will face charges of aggravated sexual assault, while two other officers will be indicted on lesser charges. Legal experts tell the NY Times the case against the cops "will hinge on two key elements: the extent and nature of the man’s injuries and the intent of the officers who might have caused them." But, referring to how the NYPD handled the accusation (by way of denial), the Reverend Al Sharpton said, "The internal affairs department of the New York City Police Department repeatedly said that ... [Mineo's] charges were groundless. Clearly police cannot police themselves." more ›

Almost two months after a 24-year-old man accused cops of beating him and sodomizing him on a subway platform, a grand jury has indicted three police officers involved. While the indictment has not been officially communicated to lawyers, reports say that Officer Richard Kern was indicted for assault, while two other cops face lesser charges. more ›

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The special investigative grand jury convened in the case of the man who says police sodomized him with a walkie-talkie antenna after he resisted arrest in a Brooklyn subway station will not have an easy time deciding whether to indict the officers because of conflicting witness testimonies. And police sources have contradicted each other when speaking off the record with the Times: One source says the man, Michael Mineo, suffered internal tears just inside his rectum, while another insists the tear was "just above his rectum." Forensic tests on one officer’s equipment found no trace of hair, fibers, bodily tissue, fecal matter or blood. And sources tell the Daily News that one transit cop who came upon the three officers making the arrest approached his commanding officer to make a statement, but a union delegate discouraged him. NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday that "the statements of the complainant and the statements of witnesses are so disparate, and charges here so serious, that I think the investigative grand jury is appropriate in this case.” more ›

The Brooklyn man who says police sodomized him with a radio antenna after he resisted arrest at a subway station is still in the hospital, and subpoenas have been issued to six witnesses who support his claims, including bystanders, friends and a roommate who took him to the hospital after the incident. Two witnesses believed to support the NYPD's sodomy denial—a token clerk and his 12-year-old son—have also been subpoenaed, the Daily News reports. Earlier this week, a special grand jury was convened to look into the explosive allegations. more ›

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes a special grand jury will look at the claims of a Brooklyn man who says five police officers beat and sodomized him with a police radio antennae at a subway station. Hynes said, "On the basis of preliminary conclusions of the early stages of my investigation and a review of the medical evidence concerning the allegations that Michael Mineo was brutally assaulted by four police officers I have ordered a special investigative grand jury to be empaneled." more ›

NY1 had video of Michael Mineo, the 24-year-old man who claims police officers sodomized him with a police radio at a subway station, in his hospital room. Mineo, who was rehospitalized after the alleged October 15 attack; when asked how he felt, Mineo broke down, "How do you think I'm supposed to feel? I was violated." more ›