NYPD Undercover Detective Gets 2 Years In 2013 Motorcycle Melee Case
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A judge sentenced an undercover NYPD detective convicted in a 2013 attack on an SUV driver in upper Manhattan to two years in a city jail.
Justice Maxwell Wiley handed down the term to Wojciech Braszczok in state Supreme Court Wednesday.
The 34-year-old detective had faced up to seven years in prison after being acquitted of the most serious charges but convicted of lesser crimes.
Braszczok and his co-defendant, Robert Sims, had said they believed the driver was fleeing the scene of a crime because he had just struck a biker amid the September 2013 rally on the West Side Highway.
The SUV's driver, Alexian Lien, testified in court he was scared for his life and the safety of his family after being taunted by the group, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported. The couple called 911 numerous times.
Lien was pulled from his SUV in Washington Heights and beaten in front of his wife and young daughter.
Braszczok took off as Lien was attacked, Gainer reported.
In court, the assistant district attorney said Braszczok did a "disservice to tens of thousands of police officers who take their jobs seriously."
Police officers are required to take action to protect the public, even when off duty.
In June, a judge, not a jury, found them not guilty of the top charges of gang assault and first-degree assault but guilty of second-degree assault, coercion, riot and criminal mischief. Sims was also found guilty of a more serious assault charge.
Sims is set to be sentenced Thursday and faces between 3 1/2 and 15 years in prison.
Braszczok and Sims had faced up to 25 years if convicted of the top charges.
Eleven men were indicted in the confrontation, which was captured by a rider wearing a helmet-mounted camera and later posted online.
Instead of jail time, Braszczok's lawyers had wanted him to give back by speaking to law enforcement about how one split decision could negatively impact your life.
The defense had argued that Braszczok has a wife and two kids, and was terminated from the NYPD and faces financial hardship, Gainer reported. They also said if he went to jail, having been an officer, "his life would be in jeopardy."
Braszczok's sentence was stayed until Sept. 2, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported. He's currently free on bail.
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