Stupid police tricks

Note to New Orleans' (ahem) finest: If you absolutely must commit police brutality, it would be useful to keep a couple of things in mind. First, make sure you have the right person in custody before you beat the . . . er, before you severely thrash the suspect.

And second . . . MAKE SURE HE IS NOT A LAWYER. Thank you.

"I heard, 'New Orleans Police!' so I immediately turned around," Coleman said in a telephone interview. "I didn't know who it was or what was going on. I put my hands up. They came toward me and immediately started punching me and took me to the ground."

Coleman said he suffered a mild concussion, cuts to the face, lumps on his head and bruised ribs.

He said officers told him they were looking for a pickpocket in the area, a "black man wearing black."

Coleman - who is African American and describes himself 5' 8" and 140 lbs. - said he was dressed in navy blue.

Marlon Defillo, deputy chief of the New Orleans Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau, said his office has opened an investigation and reassigned two department staffers.

"Based on the complaint and the ongoing investigation, we feel it is necessary at this time to reassign them," Defillo said.

The other five officers involved in the incident have not been reassigned, and the investigation is ongoing, said Defillo, who did not release their names.

Officer Reynolds Rigney Jr., who joined the police force in 2004, has been reassigned to technical support, Defillo said. He has an unblemished record with the police department, according to records with the city' Civil Service Commission.

Sgt. Jake Schnapp Jr., a 17-year-department veteran, also has been reassigned to desk duty and camera surveillance, Defillo said. Schnapp, however, has an extensive history of sanctions for on-the-job offenses.

(snip)

The alleged beating took place around 11 p.m. in the 700 block of Conti Street, according to a police incident list.

Coleman's alleged beating came as a group of seven officers from the First District were patrolling the French Quarter, part of increased policing efforts during New Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl. Coleman said he was returning to his car, which was parked on Conti Street, when the officers pounced on him.

"I said to them, 'What is this? I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything,' " Coleman recalled. "They were yelling, 'Stop resisting.' " Coleman said he sustained punches while handcuffed.

"I started yelling out that I'm a lawyer," he said. "Then the punches stopped."

The officers realized their mistake, according to Coleman, when they ran his identification through records.

Coleman said he filed his complaint with the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau just hours after the incident.

Both the FBI and District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office are aiding in the investigation, which is ongoing, Defillo said. There is no timeline for a ruling on the matter. Coleman said he has also filed a complaint with the NAACP.

The complaint is being followed closely by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu's office, where Coleman was an intern in 2005, said an office spokesman.

Oops.

MEANWHILE, IN THE CITY AMERICA FORGOT . . . .