Nassau police officer Dominick Mantovani denies assaulting Baldwin resident Robert Besedin Sr. at civil police misconduct trial

A Nassau police officer denied Thursday he threw a Baldwin man off this porch and into the ground as he testified for a second day in a rown in an alleged civil police misconduct trial in federal court in Brooklyn.

The testimony from Nassau Police officer Dominick Mantovani appeared to contradict a video jurors watched the day before and shows Mantovani's left forearm across plaintiff Robert Besedin Sr.' neck as he pushed the Air Force veteran down the stairs of his Harrison Avenue home on Feb. 7, 2017.

Mantovani testified that he was cupping Besedin’s head with his hand as the two men, along with Nassau Police Officer Stephen Beckwith, moved down four steps, from the top of the porch to a concrete path. He said his forearm never touched Besedin, 79 years old.

Besedin’s attorney Fred Brewington told Mantovani that his testimony also contradicted a 2022 deposition, when Brewington asked the officer "Didn’t you actually propel Mr. Besedin down the stairs, yes or no?

"I would say yes," Brewington said in the deposition."

Mantovani also testified that he "hopped" down the stairs, contradicting a felony complaint written by Beckwith that said Besedin had pushed Mantovani off the porch, injuring the cop.

"At the time, I though it to be accurate," Mantovani told Brewington on Thursday.

"And when the video came out, you changed your story?" Brewington asked.

"No, I did not," Mantovani responded.

The lawsuit, filed by Besedin in 2018, names Nassau County, Nassau police, Beckwith and Mantovani as defendants. It claims the defendants violated Besedin’s civil rights by assaulting him and then falsely arresting and detaining him.

Besedin, Brewington told the jury during his opening statement on Wednesday, had called police several times that day because he was upset about a burglary at his auto repair business. Beckwith and Mantovani had responded to the house several times that day before they arrested Besedin, charging him with second-degree assault, harassment and resisting arrest.

The officers did not know that the incident was recorded on a home security video on Besedin’s porch, the defense argues. The video is blurry, dark, and does not include audio. Under cross-examination by defense attorney Andrew Brancato, Beckwith testified on Wednesday that it does not show everything that happened the evening that Besedin was arrested.

During his opening statement on Wednesday, defense attorney Andrew Blancato told the jury that Besedin was suffering from a mental health crisis on the day he was arrested that was rooted in a traumatic brain injury the mechanic suffered during a 2003 auto accident. Besedin, Brancato said, was drinking heavily the day he was arrested.

Besedin was charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest and harassment following the incident, but the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges in January 2018.

Testimony in the case continues Thursday afternoon.