A jury fully cleared three NYPD officers accused of violating the civil rights of a man who stabbed a uniformed patrol officer in the head with a hunting knife.
The Brooklyn federal court jury deliberated for just over an hour Friday before rejecting a civil suit filed Hugo Antonio Hernandez, who had pleaded guilty to plunging the six inch-long blade into the officer’s brain and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in state prison for the assault.
The jurors sided with attorneys for the city who argued that the three officers had used “reasonable force” in subduing and handcuffing Hernandez, moments after he stabbed Officer Angel Cruz Jr., a Marine Corps and Iraq War veteran, on a Brooklyn subway platform in March 2007.
Matthew Modafferi, a lawyer for the city, told jurors that Sgt. James McNamara and Officers Victor Lopez and Christopher Balleara initially thought that Cruz had been shot in the head and believed Hernandez still had the gun as he lay face down on the subway platform.
“This case is about an individual who savagely stabbed an officer in the head…he had his hands clenched beneath him and resisted efforts to get his hands behind his back,” Modafferi said in court.
Hernandez, 26, who acted as his own lawyer in the case, claimed he was beaten by the officers after he was already handcuffed.
“They left law enforcement behind and entered the realm of law breaking,” Hernandez told the jurors.
The incident began after Cruz stopped Hernandez and his friend to issue them tickets for smoking in an East New York subway station.
After Friday’s hearing, Hernandez’ brother, Roberto Hernandez, said the family was “proud” of how Hugo had acted in court as his own attorney. He explained that the knife assault occurred during a point in Hugo’s life when he was suffering from depression and other mental health problems and is now in better health.
On his way out of the courthouse, Cruz said he’d completely recovered and has returned to full duty with the police department.
Frances Sands, another attorney for the city, said “we’re very pleased that the jury reached this verdict,” pointing out that “these police officers put their lives at risk every day.”
mmaddux@nyopost.com