86-Year-Old Brooklyn Man Says He Was Wrongfully Tased By Police
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn family is suing the city after an 86-year-old man claims he was wrongfully tased by police.
Police came to John Antoine's Crown Heights home after receiving a 911 call regarding a potentially suicidal 23-year old believed to the boyfriend of Antoine's granddaughter.
It brought officers up the three flights and to Antoine's front door, which was wide open because he thought his wife was coming up, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported. According to Antoine, officers came to the kitchen where he was making soup and used a taser on him.
"He tased me twice first here and on my leg," Antoine said. Antoine also said he was kicked in the stomach.
Police said Antoine refused to drop a "large kitchen knife," that he was holding at the time, and commended the officer for using what the department calls "intelligent restraint."
Antoine was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and harassment.
"To think that police are just breaking into an individual's area of residence, and not knowing a description, not knowing an age,"" Scott Rynecki, Antoine's attorney .said
Antoine, a retired pipe-fitter, said he has never had any contact with police before, and he only had a knife because he was cutting onions for the soup he was making.
"I cannot sleep at night, all the time thinking of what was done to me," he said.
The initial call made by an officer who was contacted by a third party about a potentially suicidal young man states:
DISPATCHER: "Any idea how old he is?
OFFICER: "He's 23 years old."
The call was for a man believed to be the boyfriend of Antoine's granddaughter.
There was no comment made on the alleged mistaken identity. Antoine's family is also pushing for the Brooklyn District Attorney to investigate the incident as a civil rights violation.