Anthony Federico's long-awaited trial ongoing

Alleged police-abuse victim recalls night that led to Rockville Centre officer's indictment

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Kevin Kavanagh wore a black coat and a stern look as he entered the courtroom at 12:26 p.m. on Monday. The 27-year-old alleged victim of police brutality, who admitted to being drunk and high on cocaine on the night of an altercation with Rockville Centre Police Officer Anthony Federico, took the stand in Nassau County Court in Mineola.

Federico, 37, was indicted last March on charges that he assaulted Kavanagh during a skirmish outside a South Park Avenue bar, and later falsified police records to cover it up. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial, before Judge Christopher Quinn, began on Jan. 24.

The officer 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, now 27, on the head with his Taser and opening a 6-centimeter laceration that required staples to close. Kavanagh’s brother, Brendan, now 21, was also involved in the tussle.

Kavanagh, a Rockville Centre resident and a former Stony Brook University hockey player, said he did not remember his encounter with Federico. He said he learned what had happened later, after viewing a cellphone video taken by a friend, Alyson Gallo, who is heard screaming and cursing at Federico in the footage.

Kavanagh had been celebrating a friend’s birthday at the Beach House, and, after leaving the bar, he and Brendan got into a fight with some men in the street. Kavanagh said he remembered being “flipped” in the air by one of the men. His next memory, he said, is of waking up in the back of a police car, bleeding profusely and screaming for help.

“The only blackout is when you’re accused of committing several crimes?” Federico’s attorney, William Petrillo, asked loudly, his tone almost frustrated.

“Yes,” Kavanagh said.

“Got it,” Petrillo shot back.

Footage captured by Gallo, which both the prosecution and the defense have said would help their case, begins with Federico pushing Kavanagh up against a wall next to Croxley’s Ale House. Kavanagh puts his arm around the back of Federico’s neck, and Federico then shocks him with a Taser, forcing him to the ground.

Brendan Kavanagh then attempts to kick Federico, who turns and punches, knees and shocks him. When Kevin Kavanagh gets up, Federico pushes him back against the wall and into a corner, where, after another struggle, Federico handcuffs him with the help of other officers who had just arrived. Gallo testified last week that she saw Federico strike Kavanagh in the head, after which blood streamed down his face, but that it was not captured on the video.

“The video alone will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Federico caused the injury,” said Assistant District Attorney Robert Cavallo, deputy chief of Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas’s Public Corruption Bureau, who is prosecuting the case, in his opening statement on Jan. 24. “. . . Instead of handling it in a way that was appropriate, he acted out of vengeance and anger.”

Cavallo also alleged that in a crime report after the incident, Federico falsely claimed that Kavanagh’s injury occurred during the fight before he arrived on the scene, and was not caused by the Taser.

Petrillo described the Kavanagh brothers as “intoxicated, belligerent and criminal,” his loud declaration filling the courtroom during his opening statement. He added that Kevin Kavanagh’s blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit and that there was cocaine in his system.

According to police reports, Kavanagh was charged with attempted assault on Federico and resisting arrest. His brother was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing law enforcement and possession of fake identification. The charges have since been dropped.

Petrillo, who claimed that Kevin Kavanagh punched Federico in the face before the video began, paused the footage at one point on Friday to show both of Kavanagh’s hands on Federico, and a third “unknown hand” reaching near his back, just above his gun.

“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.”

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

“I think the evidence backs up Officer Federico,” Gennario said of the video during a trial recess, adding that it was “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.

Brendan Kavanagh testified on Tuesday. The trial continues Thursday at 2 p.m.