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Officers plead innocent to bias charge in torture case
September 8, 1997
Web posted at: 6:18 p.m. EDT (2218 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) - Two New York City police officers accused of beating and torturing a Haitian immigrant in a precinct bathroom pleaded innocent Monday to a new charge of bias based on "race, color, religion or national origin."
The new charge was part of a state indictment against Officers Justin Volpe, 25, and Charles Schwarz , 31. The state indictment also included earlier charges that Volpe and Schwarz had sodomized and assaulted Abner Louima with a wooden stick.
The indictment also repeats previous allegations that Volpe and Schwarz were joined by Officers Thomas Bruder, 31, and Thomas Wiese, 33, in punching, kicking and beating the victim with a radio.
All four officers appeared Monday in a New York state court in Brooklyn. The four pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The accusation that Louima, 30, had been brutalized and sexually assaulted while in police custody quickly became a lightening rod for sentiments that New York's crime rate declined at the cost of increased police brutality.
A demonstration against police brutality drew thousands of marchers, and opponents of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani have cited alleged police brutality as a failure of the current administration.
But political experts do not expect the scandal to damage Giuliani's re-election chances in November.
Louima had been arrested on charges of disorderly conduct in connection with a brawl outside a Brooklyn nightclub on August 9.
Federal prosecutors are looking into whether Louima's civil rights were violated.
Monday's indictment accuses Volpe and Schwarz of first-degree assault and first-degree aggravated sexual abuse for allegedly sodomizing Louima with a foreign object.
All four men are charged with second- and third-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon -- the radio they are accused of beating Louima with -- and aggravated harassment, which is the bias charge.
Louima, a night security guard, remains hospitalized with internal injuries.
He has filed a $55 million lawsuit for damages against the city. An attorney in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Johnnie Cochran, has recently agreed to join the legal team representing Louima. His attorneys say they may increase the amount they seek in damages to $465 million.
The four police officers wore business suits to Monday morning's brief court appearance.
Volpe was grim-faced and silent as he left the court building.
All four had previously pleaded innocent to charges in the Louima case, and are free on bail.
They remain suspended from their police duties, although civil service law requires that their paychecks resume this week.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Police accused of torture to get paychecks but no work - September 7, 1997
- Report: N.Y. officer in brutality case put on modified duty - September 4, 1997
- Many question the value of NYC 'police panel' - August 28, 1997
- Doctors downplay comments by Louima's lawyers - August 28, 1997
Related sites:
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- Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C.
- Unofficial Haitian Home Page
- New York City Police Department
- NYC LINK: Official Site of New York City
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