Detective Angelo Pampena, one of two NYPD cops accused in the brutal beatdown of a postal worker in Queens, was once sued for allegedly busting a man's hand with his baton.
The 2010 suit was settled by the city for $30,000 without admission of wrongdoing by the cops involved, one of them Pampena, reported the Daily News. The nine-year veteran and Detective Robert Carbone, who has been on the force for eight years, were indicted on Wednesday for the vicious attack on letter carrier Karim Baker, 26, who unwittingly gave directions to a man who went on to kill two cops.
According to an earlier issue of the Daily News, Pampena, 31, and Carbone, 29, were charged with the shocking Oct. 21 assault on Baker which left him seriously maimed. For allegedly lying about what happened, Pampena was also hit with a perjury charge.
Baker said that he is still hurting physically and emotionally and was not surprised that the pair was indicted because when he testified before a grand jury hearing the case, he could judge from their reaction that the police officers are going to be charged. The beatdown happened in Queens where Baker has just gotten in his car when attacked. He was in uniform, having just finished his shift for the Postal Service.
The mailman was initially charged with various offenses that were later tossed. As the assault was being investigated Pampena filed a false affidavit claiming the fight broke out when Baker's car was found parked in front of a fire hydrant. Surveillance video showed the car was parked legally.
Baker and his attorney claim the postal worker was repeatedly harassed after he unwittingly directed Ismaaiyl Brinsley to a house in Brooklyn on Dec. 20, 2014 where he shot and killed two police officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. Pix11 said attorneys for Pampena and Cardone did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Baker was a former FedEx driver, now employed by the Postal Service. He claims he was stopped more than 20 times in the past year without having been issued a ticket. He said a gang of officers roughed him up in October. He is suing the city and has filed a notice of claim in Queens Supreme Court for an unspecified amount of money.
