Federal Jury Awards $14.25 Million to Victim of NYPD Brutality

The plaintiff, who was 25 at the time of the incident, suffered a fractured skull and a traumatic brain injury during a New Year's Day encounter in Brooklyn in 2020. According to trial evidence, officers repeatedly slammed the man’s head into the ground while he was handcuffed, later inventing claims that he had assaulted them to justify their actions. These fabricated allegations led to 18 months of malicious prosecution against the plaintiff.

Despite the presence of over 20 officers at the scene, no body-worn camera footage of the arrest was preserved. Lead trial counsel Evan Brustein, alongside attorneys Brian L. Bromberg and Scott A. Korenbaum, successfully argued that the department’s actions constituted battery and a failure to intervene. While the award includes $11.55 million in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages, Brustein noted that the financial restitution cannot fully restore the plaintiff’s health or the years lost to the legal battle.