Bronx detective breaks silence on misconduct accusations

<p>A Bronx detective is breaking his silence following accusations of police misconduct.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Nov 17, 2017, 9:59 PM

Updated 2,578 days ago

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A Bronx detective is breaking his silence following accusations of police misconduct.
Detective David Terrell has been linked to high-profile cases like that of Pedro Hernandez, who spent more than a year in jail for a 2015 shooting. In September, the DA dismissed an indictment against the Bronx teen because of conflicting witnesses.
In his 11 years at the 42nd Precinct, Terrrell has made over 1,000 arrests, some of which have come under fire. Terrell says he stands by them. But he says he was not the arresting officer in the Pedro Hernandez case.
Attorney John Scolia represents several plaintiffs, including the Cotto family, who have filed civil lawsuits against Terrell and the NYPD.
"The lawsuit alleges a variety of things, including sexual harassment, police brutality, false arrest and forcing witnesses to lie," Scolia says.
The Civil Complaint Review Board, a city agency that deals with public complaints against police officers, cleared the detective of two charges.
"They cleared him in two allegations in Cotto lawsuit," Terrell's lawyer Eric Sanders says. "He didn't arrest Angelo Cotto and didn't make any complaints against his mother. He wasn't at work."
Terrell has been stripped of his badge and gun for more than a year. The NYPD tells News 12 he is on modified duty as a result of an unrelated administrative matter. The DA's office says it is investigating Terrell, but won't say what for. Terrell says he thinks he is being made a scapegoat.
"The department didn't step up and stand up for me saying I had nothing to do with this," Terrell says. "The Bronx DA's Office worked hand-in-hand with these cases, they know the situation and they said nothing about it. Instead they say we are going to investigate me."
Terrell has filed a lawsuit against the City of New York and the NYPD for $175 million and is calling on the federal government to get involved in his case.