Daniel Batista - Perjury / No Crime
Batista, Daniel ; weapon possession/sale; NRE: no crime, perjury/false accusation, police officer misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence, misconduct that is not withholding evidence, perjury by official
NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):
"At about 7:25 p.m. on June 30, 1992, 24-year-old Daniel Batista...was walking on 149th Street toward Broadway with a friend, Ana Caraballo. They were on the way to have dinner with Caraballo's boyfriend, Julio Suarez, as well as Caraballo's mother. Batista's wife and child were to meet them later.
"As they walked, a dark blue van stopped in front of 559 West 149th Street and four New York City police officers, including David Benitez and James Velez , got out.
"One of the officers asked Batista, 'Why are you coming out of that building?'
"'What building?' replied Batista. 'I am not coming out of any building.'
"Officer Benitez then took Batista into the building. Meanwhile, Suarez was watching from the window of Caraballo's mother's apartment nearby. A crowd of about 30 people gathered outside.
"Benitez and the others handcuffed Batista, took his keys, and began trying to open doors with them on the first floor. They also took his wallet containing $400.
"Witnesses later said that officers then took Batista into the bulding next door at 557 West 149th Street. They saw Benitez walk into the building holding a gun. Batista later said that Benitez walked up to him holding a handgun. 'You're screwed,' Benitez said. 'This weapon is yours.'
"When Batista denied the weapon was his, Benitez struck him in the face with an open hand and other officers punched him in the abdomen."
"Benitez and Velez testified that they saw a bulge under Batista's clothing and discovered the weapon.
"Batista testified that the officers planted the gun on him after they were unable to gain entry to any apartments with the keys they took from him. Three witnesses testified that Benitez and Velez had stopped Batista and taken him into two different buildings, where they tried to get into apartments with Batista's keys.
"On December 21, 1992, the jury convicted Batista of criminal possession of a weapon...At the sentencing hearing...Justice Bernard Fried told Batista, 'You are convicted by a jury, which took a very short time to reject your preposterous, and, in my view, completely untruthful story or version of what ocurred. . .I am satisfied that you committed perjury in this courtroom.'
"'In addition to that, in my view, you produced witnesses on your own behalf who equally told untruthful stories, compounding the aggravating situation here,' the justice said. 'You made serious allegations involving police conduct, allegations which were clearly rejected outright by a jury verdict which came in [after] several hours.'
"Justice Fried then sentenced Batista to two to six years in prison.
"Batista, who had been a peddler selling clothing and perfume on the street, was released on parole after serving 13 months and spent two years in a half-way house.
"Meanwhile, attorney Joseph Holmes at the Legal Aid Society was working on an appeal of the conviction, citing the arrests of Velez and Benitez, as well as numerous other officers in the 30th Precinct.
"The motion noted that Benitez had pled guilty in U.S. District Court to extortion in connection with taking payoffs from drug dealers during the time that Batista was arrested. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Velez was arrested and convicted of perjury for lying about involvement in corrupt activities. He was sentenced to one to three years in prison.
"The arrests of Benitez and Velez and 31 other officers led to the precinct being christened the 'Dirty Thirty.'...The officers were accused of forcing their way into apartments without search warrants, then falsifying arrest reports and lying to grand juries and at trials.
"The motion said, 'The officers, operating in small cliques, stole drugs, guns and cash, sometimes breaking down doors to get at them, or patting down dealers for keys to the houses where they had stored drugs, according to authorities. Some of the officers admitted protecting narcotics runs or beating up drug dealers for drugs and money..."
"The motion said that the officers 'routinely covered up' their corruption by making false reports and 'flaking' -- the term used for planting weapons on a suspect.
"In 1996, Justice Fried granted the motion and vacated Batista's conviction. The prosecution then dismissed the charges."
[One wonders if Judge Fried apologized to Batista, whom -- along with other defense witnesses -- he wrongly branded a liar, whilst (seemingly reflexively) believing the (truly) perjurious policemen.]
"In 1997, the New York Times published an extensive report chronicling The Dirty Thirty and interviewed Batista. 'No one believed me when I told them what happened,' Batista said. 'I lost my marriage and my business and almost three years of my life. And now that I'm out, nobody really cares.'"
"Batista was subsequently awarded $650,000 to settle a lawsuit against the City of New York. And in 1998, Batista settled a lawsuit against Benitez and Velez. The settlement required each of them to pay Batista $100 a month for 25 months -- a total of $5,000."
[All emphases added.]
