By:Leslie Gonzalez
Suffolk to handle prosecution, DA says
A West Hempstead man has filed a multi-million dollar claim against the Village of Malverne, the Malverne Police Department and Nassau County in connection with an arrest made by Malverne police in May.
Todd DeClemente, 34, charges that he was hospitalized for two days and diagnosed with a fractured skull after Officer Raymond Rice struck him in the head during a traffic stop.
Because Rice's father is an investigator in the Nassau County district attorney's office, the case is being transferred to Suffolk County's Public Integrity Unity, to avoid any conflict of interest.
Notices of claim, the first step of a lawsuit, were filed Friday Aug. 17 by Steve Marchelos, DeClemente's Mineola-based civil attorney. DeClemente is seeking up to $10 million for personal injuries and another $10 million in punitive damages.
"Does someone have to die before somebody looks at Malverne?" said Marchelos. "There's no internal affairs, no complaint bureau and no method of policing these cops."
DeClemente's 1992 Ford was stopped at about 1:45 a.m., May 20, on Hempstead Avenue near the Southern State Parkway after his car was seen speeding northbound on Ocean Avenue near Utterby Road.
"Officer Cantanno noticed the driver was apparently intoxicated," said Lt. Glen Jacobsen of the Malverne Police. During the stop, a second patrol car, driven by Officer Rice, pulled up to the scene.
Although police statements claim DeClemente had at least one prior alcohol conviction, the district attorney's office would not discuss his background.
Malverne police said DeClemente fled while being field-tested for sobriety. Police said a chase and struggle followed ending in the subject's arrest. During the struggle, police say, DeClemente struck Rice on the left side of the face. Statements made by DeClemente claim Rice threatened him when the officer stepped out of his patrol car.
"My client fled," said Mitchell Miller, DeClemente's criminal lawyer. "When we asked him why, we found out he had just served on the jury of a similar case. He responded that if something like this [being threatened by a police officer] was going to happen to him, he wanted to reach his home," Miller said, maintaining that DeClemente headed for a shortcut to Colonade Road.
Cantanno ran after him, DeClemente said, while Rice jumped in his car and gave chase. DeClemente fled onto Cornwell Avenue, where the patrol car jumped a curb and allegedly struck him in the leg.
DeClemente would not speak with the Herald on the advice of his attorneys, but his older brother, Steve, says the police officer struck first.
"My brother surrendered by standing still with his arms raised and his back to the police," said Steve DeClemente. It was then, Steve said, that Rice struck his brother first, punching him three times -- first swiping his ear before hitting his head twice. "He was then forced to the ground and arrested."
DeClemente's attorneys charge gross negligence, and intentional, careless and reckless conduct in connection with that arrest. They say that because police had DeClemente's license and registration information, there was no need to give chase but instead could have followed DeClemente to his home.
Despite jaw pain and nausea, DeClemente says he had to wait several hours before receiving medical attention. He was taken to Malverne police headquarters, then Nassau County police headquarters in Mineola, where he refused to undergo a blood alcohol test unless taken to a hospital. He was then cited for driving while intoxicated, speeding, felony assault and resisting arrest.
Police said Rice suffered multiple bruises and cuts to the left side of his face and head. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre at about 2:30 a.m., and was treated and released.
DeClemente was taken to Nassau University Medical Center at 4:20 in the morning.
"At the hospital, he was handcuffed to a bed by his left ankle, the same leg that was injured," Marchelos said. "He was unbathed and denied a change of clothes." Miller said police would not tell him where his client was until later that evening.
DeClemente was arraigned May 21 at the hospital and freed on $20,000 bail. After a two-day hospital stay, he was released May 22. X-ray results issued by Nassau University Medical Center show a fractured left temporal bone. Marchelos said his consulting doctor has also confirmed the fracture.
DeClemente's charges against Malverne police include vehicular assault, excessive force, depriving medical care and violation of civil rights. Malverne Village was accused of failure to properly supervise, screen, hire, discipline and retrain its officers. The county was named because many of the complaints occurred within the custody of its corrections system.
Donald Pupke, Malverne's deputy mayor and police commissioner, said Jim Frankie, village attorney, and Hometown Insurance, the village's insurance carrier, will evaluate the claim.
"We have forwarded the claim for review and to decide whether it is timely, and they will respond in an appropriate manner," Pupke said. Frankie would not comment on the litigation, but said the village's insurance carrier will review each claim and determine liability coverage.
Malverne Village, Nassau County and Malverne police have 90 days to respond to the notices of claim.
