Pubdate: Wed, 10 Feb 2010
Source: New York Times (NY)
Page: A21 of the New York edition
Copyright: 2010 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Kareem Fahim
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Michael+Mineo

EXPERTS FOR DEFENSE IN POLICE BRUTALITY CASE SAY EVIDENCE IS NOT 
CONSISTENT WITH CLAIMS

Defense witnesses testifying in a police brutality trial said Tuesday
that neither the hole in Michael Mineo's boxer shorts nor his injuries
were consistent with his claim of being sodomized by a police
officer's baton.

Such a baton would have cut an L-shaped hole, not a square one in the
shorts, and Mr. Mineo would have suffered bruises or broken bones,
forensic and medical experts testified.

"I don't believe it happened," Dr. Frank T. Sconzo said in State
Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

In their continuing efforts to portray Mr. Mineo as a liar, defense
lawyers called witnesses on Tuesday who scrutinized some of the
evidence in the case -- in particular, the victim's medical records as
well as the torn boxer shorts.

Officer Richard Kern is accused of repeatedly ramming his retractable
baton between the buttocks of Mr. Mineo, a 25-year-old body piercer
who was smoking marijuana outside the Prospect Park subway station on
Oct. 15, 2008; Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales are charged with
helping to cover up the attack.

The lead prosecutor, Charles Guria, parried a series of strong attacks
by defense lawyers throughout the day, making it hard for either side
to gain much momentum.

In the end, the day's proceedings may have set the stage for a bigger
event: testimony by one or more of the officers the next time court
convenes, on Thursday, although lawyers for the officers said they had
not yet decided whether their clients would take the stand.

Dr. Sconzo, a colorectal expert who was the first witness of the day,
dismissed the idea that Mr. Mineo's initial injuries, or an ensuing
infection, stemmed from trauma. He noted that Mr. Mineo's blood, taken
at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center shortly after the
episode in the subway station, suggested he had an "ongoing
infection," that had most likely developed at least 48 hours before he
went to the hospital.

An abscess that Mr. Mineo developed later "was not caused by anything
from the anus or the rectum," Dr. Sconzo said, noting that a culture
of fluids drained from the abscess was "not consistent with the colon
or rectal area."

A graphic photo of Mr. Mineo's buttocks, first shown to the jury on
Tuesday, did little to clear up several mysteries. While Dr. Sconzo
noted that the photograph seemed to show evidence of an anal fissure
- -- a crack or tear -- he conceded that other areas where Mr. Mineo
might have been injured were obscured by shadows or hair.

The defense lawyers also renewed their focus on Mr. Mineo's boxer
shorts, which he has said were pierced by the baton.

Thomas A. Kubic, who teaches forensic science at John Jay College of
Criminal Justice, declared that the baton "could not have made that
square hole in the boxer shorts." And he testified that a black spot
on the edge of the hole showed traces of organic compounds that can be
found in tattoo ink.

(On several occasions, defense lawyers have suggested that Mr. Mineo,
who worked in a tattoo parlor, cut the hole in his boxers himself.)

When asked by Mr. Guria, the prosecutor, whether any of the compounds
could also be found in everyday items, like skin lotions, hair
products and perfume, Professor Kubic said that it could.

Mr. Guria also asked whether Professor Kubic had tested the baton, to
see whether "carbon black" that he had found on the boxer shorts could
have come from its rubbery handle.

"No, counselor," he answered. He also acknowledged, "I know very
little about tattooing."

Defense lawyers have tried to show that Mr. Mineo has, over time,
given conflicting accounts of what happened in the subway station. On
Tuesday, they tried to zero in on his claim that medication may have
made him foggy when police investigators interviewed him in the hospital.

An internal affairs investigator, Sgt. David Gomes, testified that Mr.
Mineo was "very coherent" and "very lucid" during their conversation
at Brookdale. Mr. Mineo pulled off his underwear, showing
investigators the hole, Sergeant Gomes said.

But under questioning by Mr. Guria, Sergeant Gomes added that Mr.
Mineo was also "agitated," and "animated in his speech."

"He stated that there may be video in the subway station," Sergeant
Gomes recalled. But in fact, there was none. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake