The Abner Louima Torture Case

Already struggling to explain the 41-shot fusillade that killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed Bronx man, the New York Police Department is bracing for another examination of its alleged brutality.

On March 29, jury selection began in the federal trial of the five cops indicted in the Abner Louima torture case. Officers Justin Volpe, Charles Schwarz, Thomas Bruder, and Thomas Wiese have been charged with violating Louima's civil rights for allegedly beating the Haitian immigrant following an August 1997 disturbance outside a Brooklyn nightclub.

A fifth cop, Michael Bellomo, has been charged with lying to cover up the incident.

Prosecutors charge that, along with being beaten in a patrol car, Louima was assaulted in a precinct bathroom, where he was held down by Schwarz while Volpe shoved a wooden stick into his rectum.

The following NYPD, FBI, and federal court records provide a vivid description of the Louima incident and include detailed accounts provided by three of the arrested cops. Along with the law enforcement reports, you will find a memorandum drafted by Louima attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Peter Neufeld after the pair met privately with Wiese's counsel. During that meeting, Wiese's lawyers shared their client's version of events with Cochran and Neufeld.

Original NYPD Incident Report (2 pages)

Bruder Implicates Volpe In FBI Interview (9 pages)

Cochran/Neufeld Memo To The File (4 pages)

FBI Interview With Bellomo (13 pages)

Photo Array Including Volpe (#4) (1 page)

Photo Array Including Bruder (#5) (1 page)