Man Put In Chokehold During Inwood Arrest Sues City

INWOOD, NY — A man who was tased and put into a chokehold by police for playing loud music in Inwood is suing New York City and a number of high-ranking police officers in federal court, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Thomas Medina claims that his civil rights were violated when he was violently arrested by police officers responding to a noise complaint, according to the lawsuit. Medina and some friends were playing music on the night of July 14, 2018 when neighborhood coordination officers Fabio Nunez and Shanee Pierce arrived on the scene. After the officers arrived, Medina and his friends cut the music and began to pack up, but that didn't end the encounter.

Nunez repeatedly asked Medina to provide identification, but the man didn't have any on him. When Medina went to return a set of folding chairs to a nearby car dealership, Nunez followed him, pushed him against a car, placed him in a chokehold and shocked him 13 times with a taser, according to the lawsuit.

The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Medina, said that Nunez has a "long history" of misconduct. The police officer has been the subject of 37 misconduct allegations with the Civilian Complaint Review Board and the city has settled five different civil rights cases paying out $220,000 for Nunez conduct on the job.

"For years the NYPD has failed to discipline officers like Nunez who use chokeholds and it’s time to send a clear message to officers that if you go for the neck, you will lose your job with very limited exceptions," Cynthia Conti-Cook, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society said in a statement.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated Medina's complaints regarding Nunez's improper use of a chokehold and taser in its own review of the arrest, a Legal Aid Society spokesperson said.

NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill, Chief of Department Terrence Monahan, Nunez, Pierce and several other police officers are all named as defendants in the civil rights lawsuit.

The Legal Aid Society released surveillance footage that largely corroborates the story of Medina's arrest.

When the footage was released in 2018, the NYPD said that Medina's arrest was "under review." At that time, the department also released a statement saying that Medina "physically resisted arrest for a prolonged period of time," and accused the man of biting one of the responding officers.

As a result of the arrest, Medina was charged with felony assault on an officer, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct. A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society said that Medina's charges are expected to be dismissed and sealed sometime this year.