Harlem Cops Arrested Driver, Lied About Gun, Lawsuit Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — Police officers in Harlem stopped and beat a man for no reason, falsely said he had a gun and then held him at Rikers Island for days before charges against him were dropped, according to a new lawsuit.

The man, Joseph Perez, filed suit last Thursday against the NYPD and several officers, including an East Harlem cop who has previously faced charges for making false statements, according to police records.

The suit stems from an incident on Dec. 9, 2020, when police stopped Perez as he drove his car around 9 p.m. near the intersection of East 115th Street and First Avenue, the suit says.

Though Perez says he had done nothing suspicious, Officer Michael Comparato and 10 other cops pulled him out of his car, slammed him to the ground and pointed their guns in his face, the suit alleges. One officer punched Perez in the face while another placed his foot and his neck as he lay on the ground, the suit says.

Perez was then handcuffed and taken to East Harlem's 23rd Precinct, he says. Though Perez said police did not recover any guns or drugs during the stop, police still claimed he was in possession of a weapon, he alleges.

Perez was arraigned that night, with bail set at $10,000. Since he could not pay the sum, he was sent to Rikers Island, where he remained until Dec. 14, when authorities released him after five days as required by law.

After "numerous court appearances," charges against Perez were dismissed and sealed on Sept. 9, 2021, with prosecutors having never indicted him, according to his suit.

Alleging false imprisonment, excessive force and a denial of his due process, Perez is now demanding unspecified damages from the city. The NYPD declined to comment on pending litigation.

Comparato, the lone officer named in the suit, has faced nine previous claims of misconduct, of which two were substantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board: a claim of discourteous language and an allegation that he made a false official statement, both stemming from a Feb. 6, 2021 incident.

Comparato is awaiting punishment from the NYPD's prosecution unit, according to city records.

Meanwhile, Comparato has also been named in three prior lawsuits claiming he brutalized or falsely arrested people in East Harlem.

The most recent, filed in February by resident Raheim Williamson, alleges that Comparato and fellow officers arrested Williamson inside an East 102nd Street building for no reason in 2019.

Another suit, filed days earlier by resident Desmond Hughlett, claims that Comparato and his colleagues slammed him into the sidewalk and arrested him for no reason while he unloaded groceries from a car on East 100th Street last year.

The earliest suit, filed in February 2021, claims that Comparato and other officers tackled him to the ground without cause while he rode his motorcycle near East 102nd Street, then punched and kicked him.