2 cops arrested, charged with brutally beating innocent man

TWO COPS accused of brutally beating a man in North Philly two years ago with fists and a baton as he writhed, bleeding and wailing in pain, were arrested yesterday and charged with aggravated assault and related offenses.

Officers Sean McKnight, 30, and Kevin Robinson, 26, allegedly lied about what happened, pretending they were the ones who were attacked that night, District Attorney Seth Williams said at a news conference.

Their lies triggered the arrest of Najee Rivera, then 21, who was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, Williams said.

He said that an investigating grand jury found that Robinson and McKnight "beat an innocent man with fists and baton, beat him to the point of emergency hospitalization and a broken bone in his skull."

A photo of Rivera, taken after the alleged beating, showed his right eyelid swollen shut, bruised to a purple pulp, and bandages covering cuts on his face.

Rivera faced a criminal-court hearing, but prosecutors dropped charges against him after new evidence turned up: Rivera's girlfriend had canvassed businesses near where the beating occurred and obtained a store video - with audio - of what really happened, Williams said.

"The video undermined every, every aspect of the officers' account of the incident," Williams said. "As a grand jury found, none of it was true - except for the blows inflicted on Najee Rivera."

According to the grand-jury report released yesterday and a federal lawsuit filed by Rivera against the cops last year, the cops, who were in a cruiser, first spotted Rivera on a motor scooter shortly before 10 p.m. May 29, 2013, at 7th and Somerset streets in North Philly.

At the next block, they pulled him over for allegedly violating a stop sign. The cops got out of their car with "their batons extended and told Rivera to 'Come here!' " the report says. Seeing the cops with their batons, Rivera got scared and fled.

After a brief police chase, the cops caught up to Rivera on 6th Street near Lehigh Avenue.

Williams said that McKnight and Robinson, in their falsified police reports, claimed that after Rivera fled they saw him a few minutes later, a few blocks away, lose control of his scooter and fall to the ground. The cops claimed that when they tried to arrest Rivera, he grabbed one officer, threw him into a brick wall, repeatedly elbowed him in the face and tried to slam the cop's head into the wall, Williams said.

The video showed a starkly different picture, Williams said.

"In reality, Rivera didn't just fall off his scooter as officers approached in their patrol car," he said. "Instead, one of them actually reached out of the [car] window and clubbed Rivera in the head."

The police car, which did not have its emergency lights or sirens on during the pursuit - against police procedure, then hit Rivera on his scooter, causing him to crash, spin around and fall to the ground, the grand-jury report says.

The cops then got out of the car - Robinson from the driver's side and McKnight from the passenger's side.

"He [Rivera] never resisted," Williams said. "He never struck them. He never fought back. They just started hitting him. First, one held him against the wall while the other beat him with the baton. Then they held him on the ground and beat him some more - with both fists and baton."

On the video, "you can hear Mr. Rivera from the time he fell off his scooter, writhing in pain, screaming for help," Williams said.

After the cops cuffed Rivera, who was still on the ground, "for several minutes they kept him there, while he was bleeding, and they were standing on him with foot on back," Williams said.

Attorney Leo Flynn, who represented Rivera in his criminal case and who filed the lawsuit on his behalf, said yesterday: "Najee is very happy at this point that not only was he able to be civilly compensated, but [the two cops] will be dealt with accordingly."

The city in August settled the lawsuit for $200,000.

After Rivera was arrested by the two cops, he first faced a preliminary hearing on June 13, 2013. The online court docket says the hearing was postponed because one of the cops was "unavailable due to family emergency."

At Rivera's next hearing date, Aug. 1, 2013, the D.A.'s Office withdrew the charges against him after it reviewed the video.

McKnight and Robinson surrendered to police yesterday.

Robinson's lawyer, Fortunato Perri Jr., said: "The evidence will show that the officers in this case, after chasing a fleeing suspect, were ultimately able to stop that suspect and were forced to subdue the suspect because he refused their commands to show them his hands. When they ultimately subdued and handcuffed the suspect, there was no further physical contact between the officers and the individual."

Perri contended that "the video and the audio clearly show he [Rivera] was fleeing and refusing commands. I would characterize the conduct as good police work in apprehending a fleeing suspect."

McKnight's lawyer, Brian McMonagle, said: "Sean McKnight is a good cop who risks his life every day. When suspects flee, they create risks for themselves, the public and the officers who pursue them."

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said at the news conference that McKnight, a seven-year veteran, and Robinson, a six-year veteran, are being suspended for 30 days with intent to dismiss. Both cops served in the 25th Police District, on Whitaker Avenue near Erie, in North Philly.