Brooklyn prosecutors say officers violated a victim's civil rights

"Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that defendants who answered a 311 complaint about prostitution allegedly turned a routine non-emergency call into a series of criminal acts that "shock the conscience" and violated the civil rights of a vulnerable victim. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York cast the conduct as a serious breach of public trust."

"Federal prosecutors often lean on statutes that criminalize depriving someone of their rights under color of law, most notably 18 U.S.C. § 242, when they bring misconduct cases against government actors. As the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division explains, the government has to show that a defendant willfully used official authority to strip a person of protections guaranteed by the Constitution."

"U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said that "upholding the integrity of law enforcement and holding accountable those who violate their sworn duty will always be a priority of our Office." The U.S. Attorney's account ties the alleged misconduct to what started as a standard neighborhood call."

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced charges against defendants who allegedly transformed a routine 311 non-emergency complaint about prostitution into a series of criminal acts that violated the victim's civil rights. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York characterized the conduct as shocking and a serious breach of public trust. Federal prosecutors typically use statutes criminalizing deprivation of rights under color of law, particularly 18 U.S.C. § 242, when prosecuting law enforcement misconduct. The government must demonstrate that defendants willfully used official authority to strip constitutional protections from the victim. The case originated from a standard 311 call, New York's non-emergency complaint system that routes requests like prostitution complaints to city agencies and deploys officers to specific locations.

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