Jurors in alleged Nassau police misconduct trial watch video of encounter as testimony gets underway

Jurors in an alleged police misconduct case filed by a Baldwin man who said he was assaulted by two Nassau police officers outside his home in 2017 watched video footage Wednesday of an officer grabbing the man by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

The video played to a federal jury sitting in Brooklyn sharply contradicts statements Nassau County police officer Stephen Beckwith wrote in a felony complaint charging Robert Besedin Sr., 79, with second-degree assault.

Beckwith was the first witness called in the civil trial by attorney Fred Brewington of Hempstead, who represents Besedin in the lawsuit that claims Nassau police violated his civil rights by assaulting and falsely arresting him outside his home on Feb. 7, 2017.

Beckwith wrote in the felony complaint that Besedin had violently flailed his arms, kicked, and screamed before he pushed officer Dominick Mantovani down four steps leading to the porch of his Harrison Avenue home. The felony complaint stated Mantovani was treated at a hospital for scrapes, cuts and a sprained ankle.

The video, however, showed Mantovani grab Besedin by the neck and throw him backward down the stairs. The felony complaint prepared by Beckwith and other police officials includes language that says making a false statement is punishable as a misdemeanor.

The lawsuit, filed in 2018, names Nassau County, Nassau County Police, Beckwith and Mantovani as defendants. A spokesman for Nassau police said he could not comment on the lawsuit. A spokesman for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to a request for comment.

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.

"He was mad, he was angry and he was drunk," Brancato said.

The video is blurry, dark, and does not include audio. Under cross-examination by Brancato, Beckwith testified that it does not show everything that happened the evening that Besedin was arrested.

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 and told the Air Force veteran that they would arrest him if he continued to bother 911 operators.

"We wanted him to go inside, sleep off the alcohol, and stop harassing 911 operators," Beckwith testified under cross-examination by Brancato.

Beckwith and Mantovani were leaving the house when Besedin stepped out on the porch and continued to harangue him. Beckwith said he pointed at Besedin’s front door and ordered Besedin to go back inside. He decided to arrest Besedin after the man "violently slapped" his hand.

Besedin was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, harassment and resisting arrest.

"They did not know that Mr. Besedin had on his front porch a video camera and they made accusations against Mr. Besedin that were not true," Brewington told jurors.

Defense attorney Lloyd Nadel, who represented Besedin in the criminal case, testified on Wednesday that he brought the video to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, hoping prosecutors would drop the charges. The office eventually dismissed the case against Besedin, 11 1⁄2 months later.

The video had earlier convinced a Nassau official that the officers attacked Besedin for no apparent reason.

"It is a very disturbing video," then-Deputy County Attorney Ralph Reissman said during a hearing. "It looks like a physically unprovoked attack."

Mantovani, taking the stand shortly before U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison ended testimony for the day, acknowledged that he laughed at some of Besedin’s comments during the incident and that Besedin had not come off the porch and move toward the officers as they were leaving the home.

Mantovani’s testimony will continue Thursday morning in Brooklyn.