Jury says race was factor in cop's treatment of suspect
 
Albany police officer William Bonanni was found guilty by a federal jury in Utica on Wednesday of brutalizing a black suspect during an arrest in Arbor Hill six years ago.

Bonanni, a 17-year veteran of the force, has been the target of numerous civilian complaints for using excessive force against minorities, but there is no indication he was ever disciplined as a result, according to departmental records filed in the lawsuit.

The civil verdict by the federal jury concluded that race was a factor when Bonanni stood on the handcuffed man's head, grinding the victim's face into the asphalt in front of numerous police officers. The victim, Phillip Lewis, 43, also claimed that Bonanni pulled down Lewis' pants on Livingston Avenue and separated his buttocks to look for contraband as onlookers screamed for the police to stop.

The jury deliberated just three hours following a two-day trial before handing up a decision that found both Bonanni and the city of Albany equally liable for compensatory damages totaling $65,000.

The city is responsible for what happened to Lewis because the police department has a history of not properly training, supervising or disciplining Bonanni, according to the verdict.

The federal jury will reconvene next week to determine how much in punitive damages Bonanni should pay to the victim, who was convicted of weapons charges and served a four-year prison sentence in connection with his arrest on Nov. 23, 2002.