Nicholas Satchell will get $5000 After Officer Slams His Face into Brick Wall

YONKERS

A city man who accused a police officer of brutalizing him will get a $5,000 settlement from the city.

Nicholas Satchell, 31, an unemployed mechanic, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city alleging that a police officer slammed his face into a brick wall on Knowles Street on April 26, 2007.

Satchell was not arrested during the encounter.

Satchell said the civil trial occurred in October, but the jury could not reach a verdict.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald subsequently asked the two sides to reach a settlement, which Satchell said ultimately left him unsatisfied.

"This whole thing to me wasn't about money. I want charges to be pressed against that cop," Satchell said yesterday.

"I wanted that cop to go through what a normal person on the street would go through if they beat up somebody and got arrested."

Yonkers Deputy Corporation Counsel Mark Blanchard said the settlement did not mean the city acknowledged any wrongdoing by its police officers.

He said the city settled the matter to avoid the expense of repeating the trial.

The City Council approved Satchell's settlement Feb. 24.

Satchell could not identify the officer who he alleged hurt him, but court papers indicated that the officer's badge number was 526.

According to Satchell's federal complaint, he was walking on Knowles Street near Riverdale Avenue to meet a woman he was dating around 10 p.m. when a police vehicle approached and a police sergeant informed him that he matched the description of a robbery suspect.

Another police officer arrived, and Satchell was handcuffed and "aggressively" searched.

The lawsuit alleges that the second police officer slammed Satchell's head into a brick wall after he was handcuffed, causing cuts and bleeding to his face.

After receiving the injury, Satchell alleged that his assailant made a racist remark.

"I knew that you didn't rob anyone because if you did, you would have run, (racial epithet)," the lawsuit stated.

Satchell, who is black, said that after the officers let him go, he bought a camera to document his injuries.

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