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Scores of NYPD officers lied during disciplinary proceedings over the past 10 years, with most getting off scot-free or with a slap on the wrist — and some were even later promoted, according to a new report.
In all, 181 Big Apple cops were caught fibbing to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, but 80 were not disciplined at all, 43 just lost vacation days and 42 were only subjected to instructions or command discipline, nonprofit civil rights group Latino Justice said in the report released Monday.
Only four of the officers were suspended and a dozen resigned or have pending cases.
“Nearly one-half of the officers who lied to the CCRB were never disciplined at all, even for the underlying misconduct they lied about,” said the report, titled “Shielded from Accountability.”
“The NYPD’s refusal to act when its officers lie has serious ramifications,” it said. “Officers who receive no consequences for lying will continue to do so. Individuals who are never told that an officer testifying against is known as a liar cannot receive fair trials.”
One egregious example was the CCRB probe of Officer Eric Rodriguez, who was investigated for slamming a suspect against a subway turnstile in 2011 — with both Rodriguez and his partner later found to have lied to cover their tracks.
Amaury Munoz told the independent police watchdog that he dozed off at the 42nd Street subway station on Oct. 30, 2011, and was roused from his sleep by the two cops.
Munoz testified at the hearing that the cops ordered him to leave the station, but when he did so, they told him, “You’re not walking quick enough.”
Munoz said Rodriguez then “literally grabbed and pushed and threw me into the turnstile.
“I was picked up and dragged by [Rodriguez] and thrown through the emergency door for a second time,” he said at the hearing. “I was helpless.”
After the incident, he said he was “bleeding profusely” and chipped his front teeth.
Rodriguez said they asked Munoz to leave the station after getting a report of an intoxicated person there, and that he became combative and hit the turnstile.
But surveillance footage from the station confirmed Munoz’s version of the incident — although the veteran cop “clarified” his story after being shown the videos.
In its findings, the CCRB found the cop’s use of force “unnecessary and excessive.”
The board recommended that Rodriguez be suspended for 26 days for the incident.
His partner, who was also found to have lied to the board, was never disciplined.
But that was hardly the only example cited by the Latino Project.
Officer Bernie Garcia was accused of harassing a motorist and refusing to give his name during a May 2011 traffic stop in Brooklyn, the report said.
Garcia and his partner were caught in a lie when the driver’s cell phone video of the incident surfaced, and Garcia was docked 40 vacation days.
He has since been promoted to sergeant.
In 2015, three other cops — Sergeant David Cussen and Officers Cory Smith and Daniel Song — were accused of approaching a man outside a Flushing US Marine Corps recruiting station without cause and frisking him.
They also frisked two Hispanic men who had been speaking with the recruiter.
All three men lied about the incident and were docked vacation days.
Two other officers were questioned for arresting a man in March 2018 after accusing him of being a drug dealer when he was simply sitting on a milk crate.
The man left the scene but was confronted by the officers — Christopher Cianicullo and Vasyi Fischukov — four days later outside his building, the report said.
According to the CCRB, Cianicullo “forcibly” grabbed the man while he had his son sitting on his shoulder, sending both tumbling to the ground.
The officers denied the account but were caught red-handed on surveillance video.
A decision on discipline for Cianicullo is still pending, but no action was taken against Fischukov, who has since been promoted to sergeant.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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