NATION IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Officers Jeer Mother of Slaying Victim

Off-duty police officers outside a New York courthouse taunted the mother of a man who died in police custody--and the mother responded by smacking one of the officers in the face. As Laura Nieves, the mother of Federico Pereira, left a pretrial hearing for the only officer still charged in the death of her son, about 35 off-duty officers began shouting “crackhead” and “Your son killed himself!” Nieves slugged one of the officers, and others began shouting “She hit him, arrest her!” Nieves was separated from the crowd by uniformed officers. The brouhaha began when the officers, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Not Guilty,” applauded Officer Anthony Paparella as he left the courthouse after the hearing. Paparella was one of five officers indicted on murder charges for allegedly beating and strangling Pereira Feb. 5 after they found him sleeping in a stolen car. The charges against four of the officers were dismissed, and those against Paparella were reduced to manslaughter.