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A New York Police Department sergeant who allegedly shoved a handcuffed 14-year-old boy through the plate-glass window of a Bronx hookah bar last year was found to have used excessive force by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the NY Daily News reports.

Sgt. Eliezer Pabon was not initially charged in the May 17, 2014 incident that seriously injured Javier Payne. But the latest developments in the case, brought forth by the CCRB, may mean formal disciplinary charges and a departmental hearing, the site writes.

Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson declined to file criminal charges against the sergeant or present the case to a grand jury because a glazier told prosecutors that the window was not shatter-resistant and may have been previously compromised by cracks.

“We are pleased that the CCRB, unlike the Bronx district attorney’s office, found credible evidence to support misconduct by Sgt. Pabon,” said lawyer Scott Rynecki of the law firm Rubenstein & Rynecki, which has filed a lawsuit on the teen’s behalf. Rynecki said he will ask prosecutors to reopen their investigation in light of the CCRB findings.

[…]

Pabon’s lawyer Andrew Quinn said the CCRB determination is “merely a recommendation,” and predicted his client “will be exonerated of any misconduct.”

Payne’s mother, Cherita Payne, told the News she hopes Pabon will be held accountable for his actions. Payne, who was arrested with a friend for allegedly assaulting a man in the Bronx, underwent four hours of surgery to remove shards of glass from his heart and lungs. The then-14-year-old reportedly only weighed 89 pounds when Pabon slammed him into the window.

Criminal charges against the young man were later dropped.

SOURCE: NY Daily News | VIDEO SOURCE: NDN

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