Police Brutality Claim Dismissed by Jury

A Springs man’s claim of police brutality during an arrest in January was rejected by a jury last Thursday in East Hampton Town Justice Court.

Five women and one man found William Cuthbert, 56, guilty of two of three charges against him after a three-day trial. The most serious charge, misdemeanor resisting arrest, can result in up to a year in prison, but courtroom observers said that was unlikely.

Speaking about what occurred on the morning of Jan. 23, Mr. Cuthbert repeatedly used the words “tortured” and “worked over” in testifying to how he had been treated by East Hampton Town police. 

The arrest took place at the intersection of Accabonac Road and Abraham’s Path. Mr. Cuthbert, driving a van, was in a minor accident with a vehicle driven by Luz Torres, also of Springs. The temperature was in the teens, and the roads were snowy and icy.

Because of the weather, some officers on patrol were driving four-by-four pickup trucks. Officer Frank Trotta Jr., the first at the scene, was in a Ford Ranger borrowed from and marked by the town’s Marine Patrol Department.

According to the officer’s testimony, Mr. Cuthbert apparently did not recognize him as a policeman, and said he was waiting for the cops. The defendant charged that the officer moved his Ford so close to him that he was struck by its mirror. Officer Trotta contradicted him, telling the jury Mr. Cuthbert struck the mirror deliberately. The two men exchanged words at that point, with Mr. Cuthbert using multiple obscenities, the officer said.

Mr. Cuthbert admitted using abusive language, but said that was because he was handcuffed without explanation except for being told, “I don’t like your attitude.” He told the jury the cuffs were so tight that “slowly my nerves were being cut and severed.”

Barry Johnson, the next officer to arrive that morning, said he had become concerned about Mr. Cuthbert’s flailing and screaming obscenities. The officers thought it necessary to subdue him and pressed him against the hood of the Ford, he said.

That is where Mr. Cuthbert said the torture began. “He worked me over,” Mr. Cuthbert said. “They began yelling, ‘He’s resisting, he’s resisting. Get him!’ ”

Besides Officers Trotta and Johnson, Mr. Cuthbert’s testimony was contradicted by two other officers, Vincent Rantinella and Tom Strong, as well as by a truck driver, Jerry Brockway, whose vehicle had been stopped because of the accident. Mr. Brockway told the jury he heard Mr. Cuthbert shouting obscenities.

 At an early point during questioning by Joseph Giannini, Mr. Cuthbert’s attorney, the defendant pointed to the back of the courtroom, where Gabe Grenci, a courtroom guard, stood. “Your honor,” Mr. Cuthbert said, “I find that the guard is smiling and making faces. This is a serious matter.”

While Mr. Giannini continually asked his client to remain calm, Sean McDonnell, the prosecuting attorney, was under no such obligation. “This is a case about anger,” he had said at the beginning of the trial. He asked Mr. Cuthbert if he was angry at the woman driving the other vehicle. 

“No, that is not what was said here. I got out of the vehicle. She started screaming like a crazy woman,” Mr. Cuthbert said. He paused, looking at the five women in the jury box who would soon be deciding his fate. “Crazy person,” he said.

Mr. McDonnell asked Mr. Cuthbert if he had shouted something to the effect that the officers’ families would get cancer. “I told them that they had destroyed their karma, and that could bring cancer on their families,” Mr. Cuthbert said.

The jury took a bit over an hour and a half to render their verdict. Besides the  resisting arrest misdemeanor, they found Mr. Cuthbert guilty of disorderly conduct. They did not find him guilty of harassment, however, a charge that stemmed from a small cut Officer Trotta sustained during the scuffle.

Mr. Giannini complained during his summation that Ms. Torres, the driver of the other vehicle, had not testified. Her statement to police after the accident, on file at the court, corroborated what the officers said.

 Mr. Cuthbert had turned down an offer from the district attorney’s office that he could plead guilty to a lesser charge at the simple violation level. He did not choose to do so and Mr. Giannini said afterward that his client intended to appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced on Dec. 4 by Justice Tekulsky.

One thing the jury was not aware of was that Mr. Cuthbert had been arrested at least three times when he was in his 20s on both felony and misdemeanor charges, including charges stemming from alleged violent acts. He had been convicted at least once of a felony. “So many lies,” Mr. Cuthbert said when it was all over. “I’m going to write a book about this. The community should know.”