Ernie Garcia, elgarcia
The Yonkers City Council
considers $85,000 for man claiming he was falsely arrested by Yonkers cops
The Yonkers City Council is
considering an $85,000 payment to a man who alleged he was falsely arrested by
Yonkers police officers after he filed a complaint about the cops.
At its Dec. 9 meeting the
council is expected to vote on the resolution paying $85,000 to Danny
Squicciarini, who sued the city in 2012.
Squicciarini alleged in his
federal civil rights complaint that two Yonkers police officers illegally
arrested, harassed and strip-searched him in retaliation for unsuccessfully
trying to file a complaint against them five months earlier.
Squicciarini claimed in the
court papers that he was driving into a parking lot at the Cross County
Shopping Center when an unmarked black SUV blocked his car and two plainclothes
officers hopped out without identifying themselves, ordering him and his friend
to step out of their vehicle.
The officers patted the pair
down and searched Squicciarini's car without permission, finding his textbooks
and a fishing knife, which one of the officers pocketed and refused to give back
before driving off.
The officers were identified in
the suit as "Detective DellaDonna" and "Detective DeVito."
Squicciarini and his friend
immediately drove to the city's Second Police Precinct to lodge a complaint, he
said, but a desk sergeant refused to file one without names or badge numbers,
even after Squicciarini gave detailed descriptions.
Other officers suggested the
two plainclothes officers might have been federal agents or state police, the
suit claims.
One night five months later,
Squicciarini claimed he was meeting friends in a Central Avenue parking lot
when the same two officers pulled up and, recognizing him, searched his car
again — this time finding an unlit marijuana cigarette.
Squicciarini was arrested and
charged with criminal marijuana possession, his suit stated, and harassed on
his way to getting processed.
Staff writer Colin Gustafson
contributed to this report.