He wants $2M for cop beat
He expected a break from cops, but said he wound up getting a beatdown.
And now Michael Holden, 39, of Queens, intends to sue for $2 million over his May 10, 2017, arrest after a heated confrontation with police who'd pulled him over for speeding, refused to cut him some slack because he had an NYPD courtesy shield and then allegedly pummeled and peppersprayed him — asserting the Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated most of his claims.
"They pulled him out of the car,'' said his lawyer Marni Schlesinger. "They pepper-sprayed him and they beat the bejesus out of him." Not exactly, says the NYPD. A police source told the Daily News that Holden, who is white, got out of his car despite police telling him not to, used the N-word and resisted arrest — calling it a classic example of a someone setting off a confrontation by not listening to police, and then claiming to be innocent. Schlesinger countered that Holden used "harsh words" that included cursing, but didn't use the N-word.
According to police, the confrontation occurred on the Clearview Expressway, near the Long Island Expressway, where Holden was pulled over for going 71 mph in a 50-mph zone. He was issued a summons for speeding and another for refusing to obey a lawful order by getting out of the car.
Schlesinger said Holden showed police his courtesy shield — a miniature duplicate of the real thing that cops typically give relatives and close friends in the hope they''ll be let off with a warning in any encounter with the police. He said the officers asked Holden if he also had a signed courtesy card, referring to the union handout that an officer will personalize to bolster the chance of the recipient getting a courtesy break.
But Holden didn't have the courtesy card, apparently enraging him, his lawyer said.
"The issue here is it doesn't matter what you say to police," Schlesinger said. "You can't just beat people up."
Holden, who wouldn't comment when contacted by The News, was hit with charges of resisting arrest and aggravated harassment — both of which were dismissed — and with a disorderly conduct rap, to which he pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge. He was treated at Jamaica Hospital for bumps and bruises after the incident.