Closings Underway In Trial Of Undercover Cop Accused Of Gang Assault
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Closing arguments are underway in the trial of an undercover cop accused of gang assault on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
It was like a courtroom scene right out of "My Cousin Vinny" with waving of hands, pointing of fingers, pounding on the rail, Attorney John Arlia told the judge this is "bupkis, baloney," to charge that Detective Wojciech Braszczok caused serious permanent physical injury to Alex Lien, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
Lien was the driver in the Range Rover beaten by other motorcyclists after running down a couple of bikers on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Sept. 29, 2013.
A swarm of bikers pursued the SUV to West 178th Street where the detective was caught on video shattering the rear window of Lien's Range Rover with a gloved fist.
Then he's seen doing nothing as his fellow bikers yank the Tribeca dad from his car and beat him until he's unconscious in a pool of his own blood.
Braszczok told Justice Maxwell Wiley he'd only pursued Lien to detain him because he believed he'd killed a biker. But when the attack began, it was unsafe to intervene.
"Are you kidding," asked the attorney of the scars remaining above Lien's eye. "In Brooklyn, that's a rite of passage. You get cuts all the time."