Watchdog backs vic vs. police in assault

The bizarre saga of a Fed Ex driver who unwittingly gave directions to a cop killer and later sued the city for harassment and assault has taken another turn, the Daily News has learned.

Despite the acquittal of two detectives accused of beating the driver, the city in July agreed to pay Karim Baker nearly $1.5 million to settle his lawsuit — and in the newest twist, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has notified Baker it has substantiated misconduct allegations against the detectives.

Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, called the settlement an “absurd amount of money” — and blasted the CCRB. But Baker’s lawyer, Eric Subin, said his 31-year-old client is a broken man, paranoid around cops and deserves every dollar.

“He’s a long-term victim,” Subin said. “He took a serious beating and continues to suffer.”

The News in November 2015 reported that Baker (photo) had accused the NYPD of harassing him for almost a year after Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were executed near the Marcy Houses in BedfordStuyvesant on Dec. 20, 2014, by Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

Minutes after the horrific slayings, Brinsley ran away and killed himself. To make sure he had acted alone, police traced his steps and learned that he had asked Baker, then working as a Fed Ex driver, for directions to the housing project.

But it took cops some time to verify that Baker had no idea what Brinsley was about to do because they couldn’t immediately track him down.

At some point, Baker and Subin have alleged, the NYPD flagged Baker’s two cars so that if police ever stopped him, they’d know detectives were looking for him. That flag was never lifted after police finally found him, Baker and Subin said — and Baker continued to be stopped and harassed.

The NYPD has denied ever flagging Baker’s cars.

In one such stop, on Oct. 21, 2015, in Corona, Baker, while working for the U.S. Postal Service, was charged with resisting arrest, drug possession, obstructing governmental administration and parking within 15 feet of a hydrant.

Baker denied having drugs, said he was legally parked and accused detectives Angelo Pampena and Robert Carbone of pummeling him so badly that he needed two surgeries and physical therapy. The charges against him were dismissed and Pampena and Carbone were charged with assaulting him.

The detectives were also demoted, though they were later reinstated after winning an acquittal at a bench trial in March 2017.

Then on July 31, the city settled Baker’s lawsuit for $1,495,500. The city’s Law Department called it “in the city’s best interests.” It wouldn’t discuss its rationale, but such a move is rare and typically a sign the city has an issue with the police version of events.

The detectives union, whose lawyers represented Pampena and Carbone, felt so strongly that they’d been falsely accused that the union covered the $4,500 for which the detectives were personally responsible, according to a source familiar with the settlement.

Palladino said the detectives were acquitted in part because video refuted Baker’s allegations and because his injuries were from an earlier incident that didn’t involve police.

“[The detectives] were wrongfully accused, arrested and demoted for something they did not do,” Palladino declared. “CCRB is in their own world … It’s a clear indication of how CCRB wastes taxpayer money.”

The NYPD declined to comment.