4 Officers Face New Charges in N.Y. Beating Case
Four police officers accused of beating and torturing Haitian immigrant Abner Louima pleaded not guilty to charges in a new indictment Friday.
Lawyers for defendants Justin Volpe, Thomas Bruder, Charles Schwarz and Thomas Wiese also reminded the judge they want separate trials.
A grand jury indicted the officers in February on charges that they violated Louima’s civil rights during the attack. A superseding indictment handed up earlier this week preserved those charges and accused Bruder, Schwarz and Wiese of obstruction of justice.
The charges against Volpe in the new indictment are identical to those in the original.
Prosecutors say the officers assaulted Louima, a suspect in a street brawl outside a nightclub, while driving him to the station house.
Later, Volpe dragged a handcuffed Louima into the station house bathroom where, with Schwarz’s help, he rammed a wooden handle up the prisoner’s rectum, prosecutors allege.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
