A federal judge threw out a lawsuit and issued an extraordinary apology to four NYPD cops accused of beating a Brooklyn man after the plaintiff took the witness stand on the first day of a civil trial and admitted that he lied under oath.
Even the lawyer representing Lucas Zelaya in the excessive force suit apologized to each of the officers and shook their hands after the jury had been dismissed.
Zelaya’s case imploded Wednesday under questioning by city lawyer Joseph Gutmann in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Zelaya previously testified in sworn depositions that he had drunk only two beers before the incident; he said Wednesday it was six beers. Zelaya said Wednesday the incident occurred at 11 p.m.; he was arrested at 5 a.m.
Zelaya previously testified that three “white Italian cops and a Hispanic” cop attacked him. None of the officers on trial are Italian and one is a black female.
“Now we are in a real court . . . so I am telling the truth because I don’t want to lie to you . . . now that I am before a jury I want to tell the truth,” Zelaya insisted Wednesday, according to a transcript.
