City sticks by attack cop in separate case

NYPD OFFICER James Frascatore may himself be the victim of mistaken identity.

The city Law Department is standing behind Frascatore in an incident separate from the James Blake case, in which the cop is accused of punching a black man in the stomach and calling him a “f-----g n-----.”

City lawyer Elissa Jacobs, in a Friday appearance before Brooklyn Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes, poked holes in the lawsuit filed by medic Stefon Luckey who claims he was falsely arrested and attacked by cops inside a Queens bodega and then later inside a police car.

Jacobs said the plaintiff never told the Civilian Complaint Review Board that he was punched outside the deli and he did not identify Frascatore as his assailant until the cop’s face was splashed in the media.

But the biggest problem is that Frascatore’s memo book shows he was inside the 113th Precinct stationhouse from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. processing an arrest when Luckey’s clash with cops occurred in the deli at 1 a.m., according to Jacobs.

“In light of Commissioner (Bill) Bratton’s statement about (Frascatore) falsifying records (in the Blake incident), that can be challenged, there’s risk,” Reyes observed.

Reyes expressed concern about the city’s representation of Frascatore, after Bratton’s comments criticizing the cop’s use of force against Blake this week and apparent coverup of the mistaken arrest.

“I don’t anticipate it being a problem,” Jacobs told the judge.

“We’ve already made that decision about this incident, which, frankly, I don’t believe (Frascatore) had any involvement in the first place. We see them as separate incidents. Whether any discipline is taken in the (Blake) incident, I don’t believe it impacts on what a jury may or may not think of him in this case.”

Reyes said he “completely disagreed” with that assessment, pointing out that Frascatore may have a problem with the city representing him in the Luckey case at the same time the mayor and the top cop have apologized to Blake about the cop’s actions and will likely not defend him in any litigation should Blake file a lawsuit. Blake was violently tackled by Frascatore outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in a case of mistaken identity.

The cops being sued in the Luckey case are a veritable rogue’s gallery. Frascatore is a defendant in four suits alleging excessive force; Sgt. Jared Hospedales was charged by CCRB with misconduct in connection with Luckey’s arrest and is awaiting a decision from his disciplinary trial; Officer Ymmacula Pierre was arrested for stealing a credit card number from a dead man and purchasing a diamond ring.