By VÍCTOR MANUEL RAMOS
Four Latino men who are among
those claiming they were victims of discriminatory traffic stops by a Suffolk
police officer said Thursday night that the sergeant arrested in the case is
the man who took cash from their pockets, wallets or vehicles.
The men, gathered at a house in
Coram, looked at photographs of Sgt. Scott A. Greene taken before his
appearance Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip and said he is the
same officer they had learned to avoid.
"I just felt powerless
when this happened, because what could I do if he was a policeman," said a
35-year-old Mexican immigrant, who said the officer took a $100 bill from his
wallet during a traffic stop about two years ago.
"Police are supposed to be
there to serve, protect and help people, not to harass them."
The other three men also said
Greene took cash from them after traffic stops during the last three years.
All asked that their names be
withheld, out of fear of reprisal.
The four said they have spoken
to investigators with the Suffolk County district attorney's office.
Greene, 50, who was arrested
during a sting operation on Jan. 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges of
official misconduct and petty larceny.
Suffolk County District
Attorney Thomas Spota has said he took a $100 bill from a car driven by an
undercover Latino officer.
Thursday's court appearance was
Greene's first since his arraignment immediately following his January arrest.
The 25-year veteran of the
force, a Shirley resident, has been free on bail.
He declined reporters' requests
for comment.
Immigrant advocates have told
Newsday that they know of at least 13 Latino men who have come forward to say
that a Suffolk County police officer stopped their vehicles, frisked them and
took cash.
In court, Assistant District
Attorney Melissa Bliss told Judge Derrick J. Robinson that "more charges
are coming" and the investigation is ongoing.
Robinson set Greene's next
court date for April 23.
Greene, his face somber, sat in
the courtroom's first row, looking straight ahead.
After the brief proceeding, he
walked silently, holding the hand of the woman beside him, as he made his way
out of the courtroom.
"I can't disclose anything
right now," he told Newsday before the court session.
Greene's attorney declined to
comment.
Irma Solis, an advocate with
the community group Make The Road New York, said Thursday night that the
immigrants' complaints, to this point, have centered on one officer.
The men said they also are
concerned about repeated police stops that led to thousands of dollars in
fines.
The Mexican immigrant
interviewed Thursday night, for example, said he now carries two wallets -- one
for his IDs, and another with money, which he hides.
"They are waiting to see
what the results of the DA's investigation reveals," Solis said.
"We are hoping they
conduct a thorough investigation . . . to bring some level of security among
the Latino population."
The advocates said the case
exemplifies the kind of abuses they want to see eliminated from the department
following a December settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement, which set a
plan for reforms, stemmed from allegations of discriminatory policing after the
2008 killing of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in a hate crime.In the
sting operation, Spota said that Greene pulled over the vehicle and ordered the
driver out. Moments later, the uniformed patrol officer was caught on video
taking the money from an envelope on the passenger seat, then folding the bill
and stuffing it in his left sleeve.
During the stop, Greene ordered
the driver to stand behind his car, Spota said. Authorities didn't say what
reason Greene gave, if any, for stopping the vehicle.
A video camera hidden inside
the undercover vehicle caught Greene removing the $100 bill from an envelope
filled with $1,200 in marked bills, the district attorney's office said.
Authorities and advocates have
said they believe Latino drivers were singled out because some may be
immigrants living in the country illegally who are reluctant to complain.
