A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found a former NYPD officer not guilty of assaulting two detainees in Manhattan Central Booking during separate incidents in 2022.
The jury acquitted former Officer Josue Torres on the two assault counts after hearing days of testimony by police officers, experts and one of the detainees he was accused of assaulting.
“The only thing proven in this case was the fact the jury system still works in all its magnificence,” Torres’ attorney Patrick Brackley said in a statement.
The charges concerned two separate incidents that were captured on video inside the holding cell area in the basement of the courthouse at 100 Centre St.
In one instance, video played in court shows Torres punched and kneed a man as he and other officers attempted to restrain and handcuff the man in one of the cells. In another instance, video shows Torres twisted a handcuffed detainee’s thumb and wrist. Prosecutors said the second man suffered a broken thumb during the ordeal.
Over the course of the trial, Brackley and prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office presented starkly different theories about what the evidence demonstrated. Assistant District Attorney Karl Mulloney told jurors the use of force was a crime and intentionally done to inflict pain on people in his care. Brackley painted the use of force as consistent with techniques that officers are taught at the police academy.
For his defense, Brackley relied on a single expert witness, a retired NYPD detective who previously trained officers at the police academy.
The expert, Leonardo Pino, told jurors that officers are trained to use what he called “hard tactics” in certain circumstances, which can include punching and kneeing someone who is resisting.
Pino also testified that officers are trained to use certain wrist and thumb locks in what is called “pain compliance,” and told jurors that they can be applied even on someone in handcuffs.
Prosecutors relied on testimony from one former and one current police officer who were with Torres during both incidents.
Officer Clifford Barker testified that one of the detainees, Jihad Dantzler, kicked and yelled in pain as Torres twisted his wrist and thumb.
Dantzler was later treated for a fractured thumb and his hand was placed in a cast, prosecutors said.
The other detainee, Joseph Myers, testified at the trial. Myers described being punched and hit by Torres as several officers attempted to handcuff him in a cell.
Under cross-examination, Brackley pressed Myers on whether he spit at Torres, and he ultimately told jurors he had.
Torres was fired from the NYPD in 2023, a department spokesperson said.
Doug Cohen, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office defended the decision to bring the case.
“The office fairly and impartially brings cases based on the facts and law. We thank the jury for carefully evaluating the evidence, and our prosecutors for their diligence and hard work to present this case,” he said.
This story has been updated with more information.
