Bronx Officer Indicted for Striking Suspect With Police Radio and Filing False Crash Report

A Bronx police officer has been indicted in two separate cases, one involving an alleged assault on a suspect and the other an allegedly false report about a car crash, prosecutors announced Friday.

Officer Kenny Victoria, 34, a nine-year veteran of the NYPD, was arraigned on the dual indictments and released without bail. He is expected to answer the charges in court in December. Victoria joined the department in 2015 and has spent the past year in the 44th Precinct, near Yankee Stadium.

The first case dates to Dec. 16, when Victoria and his partner were in a sector car that collided with a motorcyclist near Monroe Ave. and E. 173rd St. in Claremont Village. Prosecutors said the rider was thrown onto the hood of the patrol car and fractured his leg. He was arrested on criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges.

In a collision report, Victoria wrote that the motorcyclist had been doing a wheelie when he struck the police vehicle. Prosecutors said surveillance footage tells a different story: it shows the NYPD cruiser speeding up and turning into the motorcyclist as both entered the intersection. Police said Victoria was not behind the wheel. He is charged with filing a false instrument for allegedly lying on the report.

The second case stems from April 30, when Victoria responded to a report of a man with a gun on E. 170th St. He saw the suspect run and chased him. The suspect discarded the weapon during the pursuit and was tackled by another officer. During the struggle, Victoria allegedly hit the man in the head with his police radio, leaving a deep gash.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said Victoria "allegedly lied about police car accident that injured a motorist to cover up for the officer who was driving, and four months later the defendant allegedly struck a suspect on the head with his radio." She called the alleged actions "a betrayal of public trust" that "tarnish the shield."

Victoria's attorneys, Todd Spodek and Alex Zhik, said their client will be found not guilty at trial. "We are confident that at trial, the truth will emerge and PO Victoria will be exonerated of any wrongdoing," Spodek said.

City records show Victoria has been named in four lawsuits that cost the city $60,000 in settlements. Nine complaints have been filed against him with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, alleging abuse of authority, physical force and other misconduct, but only one was substantiated. In that case, he lost eight vacation days for conducting a strip search of a suspect "without legal authority."

PBA President Patrick Hendry said the union fully backs Victoria. "Our police officer is entitled to due process and a fair hearing on all of the facts in this case, not knee-jerk condemnation based on the allegations alone," he said, adding that the PBA will keep supporting him as the case proceeds.