- Police Brutality Watch

A former Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge related to his beating of a homeless man he threw out of Penn Station. Prosecutors said they had videotape of the incident. Michael Koenig, 34, admitted that he hit Maurice Cherry, 35, in the head before ejecting him from the station around 3 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2004. State Supreme Court Justice James Yates sentenced Koenig to perform 200 hours of community service. Koenig, who has resigned from the MTA police after four years with the department, and Sgt. Joseph Camean, 32, were arrested last August. Koenig was charged with felony assault and Camean, a seven-year MTA police veteran, was accused of failing to report the beating. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Heffner said at the time that Cherry mouthed off to Koenig, who hit him in the head with a metal baton. "There was absolutely no justification for this assault, according to witnesses," Heffner said then. "He (Cherry) went into the fetal position when Koening was hitting him. There is videotape evidence in this case." Witnesses reported the incident to Amtrak police, who told both Camean and other MTA officials, Heffner said. He said the MTA's police internal affairs bureau and the district attorney's office investigated the reports. Camean, who was suspended without pay, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records and official misconduct, which are still pending. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.[more]

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