N.Y. Cops Freed in Brutality Case

In a stunning reversal, a federal appeals court Thursday overturned the convictions of three New York City police officers in the 1997 beating and brutalization of Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which reopened one of the ugliest cases of police brutality in U.S. history, sparked furious protests from minority leaders. The Rev. Al Sharpton called the decision a “travesty,” vowing to mount massive demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.

The immediate effect of the decision was to order a new trial for Charles Schwarz. He had been convicted of holding Louima down in a Brooklyn precinct bathroom while Justin Volpe brutalized him with a broken broom handle. Schwarz, who had been serving a 15-year federal sentence, was expected to be freed soon to prepare for a new trial.

The ruling also dismissed all charges against officers Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder, who had been convicted along with Schwarz of conspiring to suppress information and impede the investigation. The decision prevents them from being retried, prosecutors said. The officers had been free on bond pending their appeal of five-year sentences.

Volpe, who pleaded guilty to the attack and is serving a 30-year sentence, was not affected by Thursday’s decision.

The Louima trial focused national attention on the New York Police Department’s friction with minorities and allegations that its officers routinely mistreated people of color. It also highlighted the “blue wall of silence,” in which police officers refuse to provide damaging information to investigators about fellow officers who break the law.

“It’s a sweet day when you can show the government was wrong and it was wrong from the beginning,” said Stuart London, Bruder’s attorney. Joseph Tacopina, Wiese’s attorney, also hailed the ruling, saying “justice has been served.”

Louima did not comment, but his attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said his client would “vigorously cooperate” with any new prosecution.

“We will do anything to ensure that justice is finally done in this horrible case,” Rubenstein added.

In a statement, U.S. Atty. Alan Vinegrad said he was disappointed that the court halted the conspiracy case through a “judgment of acquittal,” which bars a retrial on the same charges. But he added that the government will move to quickly retry the civil rights case against Schwarz.

The case was prosecuted by federal officials, who hoped to convict the officers of violating Louima’s civil rights--penalties carrying stricter sentences than state law.

In their decision, the judges ruled that Schwarz had received ineffective counsel during his trial and that the jury had been tainted by news reports during its deliberations. They also concluded that the government failed to present sufficient evidence in the conspiracy case.

The case began on a hot August night, when police responded to a melee outside a crowded Brooklyn nightclub. Volpe, who was struck in the face by one of the participants, mistakenly thought Louima had attacked him and arrested the onetime security guard.

Prosecutors said the unarmed Louima was brutally beaten in the police car on the way to the precinct house. They said Volpe and Schwarz assaulted him with the broomstick later in the evening, leaving him bleeding on a cell floor.

Louima, who reportedly collected a $8.7-million settlement from the city, moved to Florida last year, trying to shun the media spotlight. The appellate court ruling “brings all of this pain back,” Sharpton charged.

“This ruling cannot stand,” he told a news conference, calling for the appointment of a special federal prosecutor. “Our community is going to start questioning whether we have a criminal justice system that gives immunity to the police. In my most vivid imagination, I could not imagine that a court would issue the kind of ruling that it did today.”

The appeals court said Schwarz’s original attorney, Stephen Worth, had a significant conflict of interest, since he was also representing the New York Police Benevolent Assn. The judges said this may have created a situation in which Worth failed to pursue a vigorous defense for Schwarz that would have cleared him and put the PBA at risk in its battle against Louima’s multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit.

In a key finding, the judges said jurors did not hear evidence that another officer, not Schwarz, held Louima down during the attack.

Volpe, following his guilty plea, indicated through his lawyer that Wiese, rather than Schwarz, was the officer who accompanied him to the bathroom. Worth, however, decided not to put Volpe on the stand, contending that his testimony would not have had any credibility with jurors.

The court also noted that during their deliberations, several jurors apparently heard news reports that Volpe said another, unnamed officer joined him in the assault. This information, along with Worth’s refusal to put Volpe on the stand, prejudiced the case against Schwarz, the judges ruled.

Schwarz’s family has mounted a vigorous public campaign to free him ever since he began serving a 15-year sentence. He has been placed in solitary confinement for his own safety in seven federal facilities.

“I pray to God that this is the beginning of the end,” said Schwarz’s wife, Andra, shortly after hearing the news. “He’s innocent, he didn’t do it, and now I think he’ll finally be getting the new trial he deserves.”