Trial of Rockville Centre Police Officer Anthony Federico begins

This photo, submitted as evidence by the prosecution, shows Kevin Kavanagh about a day after he was arrested.

Courtesy Nassau County District Attorney

Also submitted as evidence, the photo shows Kavanagh's laceration, which the prosecution claims was suffered after Federico struck him on the head with a Taser.

Courtesy Nassau County District Attorney

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The trial for Anthony Federico began Wednesday morning, after the 37-year-old Rockville Centre Police Officer was indicted last March on charges of assault against Kevin Kavanagh during a skirmish outside a South Park Avenue bar, as well as later falsifying police records. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Federico was responding to a fight outside the Beach House at about 2:40 a.m. on May 8, 2016 when prosecutors say he used excessive force, allegedly striking Kavanagh, 27, on the head with his Taser and opening a 6-centimeter laceration that required sutures and staples to close. Kavanagh’s brother, Brendan, 21, was also involved.

“The video alone will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Federico caused the injury,” said Assistant District Attorney Robert Cavallo, deputy chief of D.A. Madeline Singas’s Public Corruption Bureau, in his opening statement. “…Instead of handling it in a way that was appropriate, he acted out of vengeance and anger.”

Cavallo also alleged that Federico falsely claimed in a crime report after the incident that Kavanagh’s injury was suffered during the fight before he had arrived to the scene, not due to the Taser.

Federico’s attorney, William Petrillo, described the brothers as “intoxicated, belligerent and criminal,” his loud declaration filling the courtroom at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, before Judge Christopher Quinn. He added that Kavanagh’s blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit and that there was cocaine in his system.

Petrillo said in his opening statement that Kavanagh put his arm around the back of Federico’s neck and arm, and that Brendan swung his leg to kick Federico, adding that the officer was surrounded by a crowd of drunks. According to police reports, Kevin was charged with attempted assault on Federico and resisting arrest. Brendan was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing law enforcement and possession of fake identification.

“This is a great police officer who found himself in an extremely dangerous situation, and who reacted professionally and appropriately,” Petrillo said outside the courthouse. “Any and all force that he used during those early morning hours was reasonable, necessary and justified. He did not commit any crime on that day.”

Mary Kavanagh, mother of the brothers, took the witness stand, as did Alyson Gallo, who recorded the video that would later be shown before the trial’s first day concluded. Gallo, 26, recalled Federico responding to the scene after Kevin and Brendan had gotten into a fight with three other unknown men. The Kavanaghs were injured, and as she tried to tell Federico that the other men were getting away, she claims he told her to “get out of his f-cking face.”

Federico then walked over to the Kavanaghs, she testified, which is about the time she began filming with her cell phone. “I didn’t think that he was there to help us,” Gallo said. She recalled Federico using a Taser on both Kevin and Brendan, as well as punching and beating them repeatedly.

Then Federico put handcuffs on Kevin and turned him over. “It looked like something out of a horror film,” she said, beginning to cry. “Kevin had blood all over his face.”

Prosecutors submitted surveillance footage from nearby bars Dark Horse Tavern and Croxley’s Ale House, as well as Gallo’s video, as evidence. As the latter video was played in the courtroom — with Gallo’s voice heard repeatedly screaming “You f-cking pig!” at Federico — she shook her head, looking across every few seconds to the police officer, who simply stared at the television screen, his arms folded in front of him.

Both the prosecution and defense have said that Gallo’s video will help their case.

Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario, one of several members from the department who attended the trial, said he believes Federico was attacked and defended himself, calling it “a simple case.”

“I think the evidence backs up Officer Federico,” he said of the video during a trial recess, adding that it’s “terrible” that charges were dropped against the Kavanaghs. “…It’s a shame that Officer Federico has to go through this, and the village and my entire department. This has not been easy for a small department, but we will survive it and I’m confident there will be a positive outcome.”

Federico is still working for the department, but is on modified duty working a desk. He waived his right to a jury trial — Judge Quinn will decide the case — and faces up to seven years in prison.

The trial was adjourned Thursday morning until Friday at 10:30 a.m. due to Petrillo being sick.