Nassau police misconduct case: Federal jury deliberations begin in lawsuit filed by Baldwin resident Robert Besedin Sr. 

Two Nassau police officers accused of assaulting an Air Force veteran outside his Baldwin home in 2017 lied on the witness stand and in felony complaints about the encounter, a lawyer for the man told jurors Tuesday during closing arguments in an alleged police misconduct trial.

"They were looking to make an arrest," Fred Brewington, a Hempstead-based attorney representing Robert Besedin Sr. in a federal civil rights violation suit, said of the officers. ‘They were looking to make something happen. Why? Because they were on overtime."

But Andrew Brancato, the attorney representing the police, said there was no excessive force and no misconduct, as the two sides gave closing arguments to the jury eight days after jury selection began in the federal lawsuit filed by Besedin in 2018.

The lawsuit names Nassau County, Nassau County Police, Beckwith and Mantovani as defendants.

Jury deliberations began on Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Brooklyn.

In his closings, Brewington reminded jurors that Police Officers Stephen Beckwith and Dominick Mantovani testified last week that they arrested Besedin because he had slapped Beckwith’s hand and had been harassing 911 operators.

The officers themselves told jurors they ordered Besedin, now 79, to turn around and put his hands behind his back so they could handcuff him. But Besedin instead pushed off the front of his home and propelled all three of them off the porch, testimony showed.

Brewington in his closings argued Mantovani lied when he testified that he was cupping Besedin’s head with his hand as they fell from the top of the porch to a concrete path. That testimony appears to contradict a video, which shows Mantovani’s left forearm across Besedin’s neck, and the officer throwing him to the ground, Brewington said, "like a professional wrestler." Mantovani’s testimony also contradicts a 2022 deposition, when he acknowledged that he propelled Besedin down the stairs, Brewington told jurors.

Brancato, in his closing, told the jury that Mantovani had not thrown Besedin off the porch.

Brewington also told the jury that Beckwith was also dishonest when he wrote a complaint charging Besedin with assault. Besedin was charged with second-degree assault, harassment and resisting arrest. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case nearly a year later.

Beckwith wrote that Besedin had violently flailed his arms, kicked and screamed before he pushed Mantovani down the steps. Mantovani was treated at a hospital for scrapes, cuts and a sprained ankle. Brewington said there was no evidence to suggest Besedin had pushed Mantovani, and Mantovani testified that he was not pushed but "hopped" down the stairs.

Brewington told the jury there is nothing in video from Besedin’s home security system that suggests the officers ordered Besedin to turn around or that he was the aggressor, calling it a "shameful" and "malicious" attempt to blame him for the assault. Brewington suggested the officers arrested Besedin because of the opportunity to earn extra pay and because Beckwith had joined the Nassau County Police Department just weeks before and was eager to make his first arrest.

The video shown to the jury numerous times throughout the trial is dark, grainy and does not have audio. Brancato reminded the jury that Beckwith is off camera throughout much of the video.

"There is no evidence anywhere that officer Beckwith used excessive force," Brancato said.

The video shows Mantovani’s left forearm across Besedin’s neck as Besedin fell from the porch, but the officer testified that his arm was not touching Besedin. Instead, Brancato told the jury, Mantovani was cupping Besedin’s head to protect him from the fall.

"Officer Mantovani never threw him," Brancato said.

Brancato told the jury allegations of false arrest and malicious prosecution were false because the officers had probable cause to arrest Besedin when they arrived at his home the last time. Besedin, Brancato said, had harassed 911 operators and slapped Beckwith’s hand when the officer stuck his finger in Besedin’s face. The officers were allowed to use "reasonable force" when Besedin resisted arrest, he said.

"The officers in this case believed the defendant committed harassment when they went to arrest him," Brancato said.

The lawsuit claims police violated Besedin’s civil rights by falsely arresting and maliciously prosecuting him, and that Nassau and its police department failed to properly train and supervise the officers. Brewington told the jury that head injuries resulting from the assault exacerbated a traumatic brain injury Besedin suffered during a 2003 auto accident.

Brewington asked the jury to award Besedin more than $4.6 million in damages.

"This man, Mr. Besedin, could have been easily left alone on his porch," Brewington said.

Deliberations in the case continue Wednesday morning.