Charges dismissed against Ms. Bonner; will RPD officer McNees be disciplined? Who knows...

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Submitted by T. Forsyth on Sat, 2018-06-16 23:35

On June 15, 2018, Catherine Bonner was in state Supreme Court Justice Charles Schiano Jr.'s court regarding a menacing a police officer charge stemming from the allegation that she pointed a gun out of a broken window of her home at an officer–after the officer told her ex that it was OK to break into the house.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Bezer began the proceeding by telling the judge that after review of the case against Ms. Bonner, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office was submitting a motion to withdraw and dismiss the charge.

Charges dismissed against Catherine Bonner

Press Conference

According to David Pilato, Ms. Bonner's attorney, the ADA did not cite explicitly why they were making a motion to withdraw and dismiss the charge, but he did speculate that it may have been because the evidence that the prosecution needed to convict Ms. Bonner was suppressed, by Judge Schiano on May 21, because of the egregious behavior of officer McNees as well as RPD policy and procedure.

Apparently, the officers not only wrongly informed Ms. Bonner's ex of the law and did not have a search warrant when they found a weapon, but never read Ms. Bonner her Miranda Rights.

Ms. Bonner's ex-boyfriend came to the house to get some belongings on November 13, 2017 and when Ms. Bonner told him he couldn't come in, he called the police. Rochester Police Department officer Korey McNees told Bonner's ex that he could break into the home for over 20 minutes, according to reporting by the Democrat & Chronicle. The confrontation was caught on body worn camera video and released by the Democrat & Chronicle earlier this year.

Officer told man to break into ex-girlfriend's home; body worm camera footage

RPD officer Korey McNees body worn camera footage

Upon Bonner's ex breaking the window–all caught on body worn camera–it appeared Ms. Bonner stuck a rifle out of the window saying, "Get outta here! Get the fuck out!" and "I'm protecting my home!" RPD officers then broke down her door and arrested her.

Her ex claimed he had lived at the hous for months but the RPD never checked his ID: his address is in Livonia, NY. Ms. Bonner, through the door, told the officer about an alleged domestic violence incident the previous night, and officer McNees disregarded this statement and continued to tell her ex that he had the right to break into the home.

It is currently unknown what, if any discipline officer McNees has faced since the incident last November. If history is any indication, based on the data provided in the report The Case for an Independent Police Accountability System: Transforming the Civilian Review Process in Rochester, New York, the public can expect that there was little to no discipline of officer McNees. (And is yet another incident and reason for why there needs to be a Police Accountability Board in Rochester, NY.)

After the charge was withdrawn and dismissed, Ms. Bonner sat down and put her head into her hands and wept tears of joy. She smiled at her family, friends, and supporters from the anti-police brutality organization Enough Is Enough.

Ms. Bonner is considering filing a civil lawsuit against the Rochester Police Department and the City.

After the appearance, Ms. Bonner and her attorney held a brief press conference. Ms. Bonner told media, "I want to say that I believe the decision was right," and "I'm glad I can put this part behind me." She thanked her mother, family, friends, and supporters.

Congratulations Catherine!

Enough is enough.

Read the documents: state Supreme Court Justice Charles Schiano Jr.'s Decision and Order regarding suppression of evidence and dismissal of the case; dated May 21, 2018: