Judge says she'll weigh motives of Nassau cop charged with beating motorist

A judge is weighing whether a Nassau police officer brutally beat a motorist at a 2014 traffic stop in Westbury because he let emotions and fear "get the better of him," or instead used "reasonable and necessary" force out of fear for his life.

Lawyers summed up their arguments Tuesday in the felony assault trial of Officer Vincent LoGiudice in Mineola, with prosecutor Bernadette Ford saying he "changed the nature of what happened from a lawful arrest to an assault" by delivering at least 18 blows to an unarmed Westbury man.

But defense attorney William Petrillo countered that LoGiudice, 35, was justified in using the force he did as motorist Kyle Howell reached under a car seat as if grabbing for a weapon and violently resisted the officers.

Petrillo asked the judge to view the encounter from the mindset of a decorated officer who acted on his training and out of "a fear that his unborn child will grow up without a father."

"When he kissed his wife goodbye that day, the plan was to come home," he said.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Patricia Harrington said she would consider the evidence, including a video of the April 25, 2014, traffic stop from a store's outside surveillance camera, before giving a verdict Dec. 11 in the non-jury trial.

LoGiudice, who joined the police force in 2007, faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top assault charge. Harrington has already dismissed one felony. The officer still faces another felony count and a misdemeanor charge.

Prosecutors contend LoGiudice meant to cause serious physical injury to Howell, now 22, when the officer unleashed a series of strikes with his hands, knee and a flashlight that caused the motorist to suffer multiple facial fractures.

Ford questioned the threat LoGiudice and his partner, Officer Basil Gomez, actually felt. Testimony showed neither officer pulled a gun after stopping Howell's 2002 Honda and recognizing him as someone with a criminal history they'd repeatedly encountered in the past.

"If Kyle Howell was this violent, dangerous monster . . . one would think there would be more than flashlights in their hands," she said.

Police arrested Howell for allegedly assaulting the officers, tampering with evidence, resisting arrest and drug offenses. But after Howell and his family retrieved the video, prosecutors launched a police misconduct probe and authorities dropped the charges.

Howell testified police saw marijuana in his glove box when he opened it to get registration and insurance cards, and LoGiudice then took the cellphone Howell had been using to record the officers. Howell said Gomez told him in a previous encounter he'd use physical force to stop him if he did it again -- a threat Gomez denied.

Howell said he then leaned across the car to try to destroy the marijuana so his felony probation wouldn't be revoked. Howell said LoGiudice then punched him twice in the face and kneed him in the nose -- with Gomez on top of him -- before he blacked out.

But LoGiudice testified he never took Howell's phone, and only started hitting Howell after Howell dove across the car, reached under the seat as if to pull a gun, and swung at him.

Kyle Howell is suing the county, LoGiudice and Gomez in federal court.