The man brutally beaten by two NYPD officers in a Brooklyn liquor store is suing the department and New York City for $100 million, according to his lawyers.
Timothy Brown, holding a cane and wearing a shoulder sling, was wheeled into a press conference on Tuesday to announce his team’s intentions of holding the detectives responsible for the violent arrest.
“I will never be the same,” Brown said.
Brown went to the liquor store in Boerum Hill after work to buy a bottle of wine when two NYPD narcotics detectives working an undercover drug bust ambushed him in a case of mistaken identity.
The violent April 14th incident was caught on video, showing Brown repeatedly punched and having his head slammed into the counter window of the liquor store as two cops — one dressed in an NYPD-issued vest and badge and the other in plain clothes —held his arms back.
The plain-clothes cop kneed him in the midsection multiple times before he slammed into a shelf of glass bottles, which shattered, causing Brown to bleed, the video shows.
Both cops then dragged Brown through the broken glass to the front of the store and turned him over onto his stomach, the video shows.
Brown suffered permanent scarring, facial injuries, and is having trouble walking, he said. The home health aide said he has not worked since the attack.
The emotional toll has been worse.
“I’m in shock,” Brown said. “I was struck several times in the temple, so it’s fuzzy.”
Brown has filed a $100 million notice of claim against the NYPD and the city, alleging misconduct for Det. Volkan Maden and Det. Michael Algerio, according to the filing. The officers have prior substantiated CCRB complaints, according to the claim.
The notice contends the officers did not use their body-worn cameras and did not identify themselves upon entering the liquor store. The cops allegedly used excessive force while detaining Brown, who was not involved in any drug activity, lawyers said.
“We’re taking the first step to get him justice,” Brown’s attorney, Derek Sellers, said. “They served a beat down to Mr. Brown, and the only thing they tried to protect was their illegal conduct.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has condemned the actions of the officers, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has already launched a 90-day internal review, after stripping the officers of guns and badges, and disbanding the Brooklyn North Narcotics Unit.
Brown’s mom said she was disappointed that the mayor and police commissioner had not reached out to the family.
“I’m really disgusted about that,” she said.
