A Bronx cop has been indicted on assault charges for striking an armed suspect in the head with his police radio, leaving the man with a bloody gash that needed several staples to close, prosecutors said.
In a separate incident, the same cop, Police Officer Kenny Victoria, a nine-year NYPD veteran, was also indicted for lying about an on-duty car crash in which a motorcyclist was thrown onto the hood of his sector car and broke his leg, officials said.
Victoria, 34, was released without bail after he was arraigned on the dual indictments Friday. He’s expected to answer the charges in court in December.
Victoria joined the NYPD in 2015. He’s been a member of the 44th Precinct near Yankee Stadium over the last year.
On Dec. 16, he and his partner crashed into a motorcyclist near the corner of Monroe Ave. and E. 173rd St. in the Bronx’s Claremont Village, prosecutors said. The motorcyclist was thrown onto the patrol car’s hood and fractured his leg, but was arrested on criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges.
In a collision report, Victoria said that the motorcyclist was popping a wheelie when he crashed into the cop’s sector car, but a review of surveillance footage from the area showed that the NYPD cruiser accelerated and turned into the motorcyclist as they entered the intersection.
Victoria wasn’t driving the car at the time, police said. However, he was charged with filing a false instrument for allegedly lying on the collision report.
A few months later, on April 30, Victoria responded to a report of a man with a firearm on E. 170th St. When the officer arrived, he saw the suspect run off and gave chase.
The suspect threw the gun away during the pursuit but was tackled to the ground by another cop. During the struggle, Victoria allegedly struck the suspect in the head with his police radio, leaving him with a deep cut.
The suspect needed several staples to “stop the bleeding from the back of his head,” prosecutors noted.
“[Victoria] allegedly lied about police car accident that injured a motorist to cover up for the officer who was driving, and four months later the defendant allegedly struck a suspect on the head with his radio,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said Friday. “His alleged actions are a betrayal of public trust and tarnish the shield.”
Victoria’s attorney Tom Spodek said his client would be found not guilty at trial.
“Police Officer Victoria has gone above and beyond in protecting the citizens of New York,” Spodek said. “We are confident that at trial, the truth will emerge and PO Victoria will be exonerated of any wrongdoing.”
In his nine years on the force, Victoria has been named in four lawsuits that cost the city $60,000 in settlements. Nine complaints have been filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board accusing him of abuse of authority, physical force and other misconduct, but only one of the complaints was ever substantiated, city records show.
In the one substantiated case, he was docked eight vacation days for conducting a strip search on a suspect “without legal authority,” records show.
