With word that an indictment will be unsealed Tuesday against a police officer accused of sodomizing a man in a Brooklyn subway station, supporters of the victim spoke out Sunday.
According to the New York Post, Officer Richard Kern will be charged with assault or aggravated sexual assault in the alleged attack on Michael Mineo.
Kern has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
The paper also says two other accused officers will face lesser charges.
Mineo says he was beaten and sodomized with a foreign object after officers tried to arrest him at the Prospect Park subway station back in October. Mineo's attorneys say hospital records prove he was sodomized, and one transit officer has backed up part of Mineo's claim.
Sunday morning, Mineo's attorneys appeared on the Reverend Al Sharpton's radio show to speak out in support on their client.
They say they feel confident about the indictment and that it is coming.
"If this policeman had not come forward, we may not have been at this point, and I think the city owes this cop that broke the blue wall of silence and did his job," said Sharpton.
Sharpton said this incident is further proof that serious reform is needed in the New York City Police Department.
"Clearly police cannot police themselves," he said. "I think with a new president and a new governor that if this is not the climate for serious police reform legislation, I don't know what would be."
Mineo's attorneys said that they are planning on filing a civil suit against the city this week. They would not specify about the damages they are seeking.
The NYPD says all three officers involved in the incident have been placed on modified duty, meaning they have been stripped of their guns and shields.
More Information: http://www.nypost.com/seven/12062008/news/regionalnews/grand_jury_to_indict_cop_accused_of_sodo_142954.htm
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