Nine NYPD cops tried to intimidate rape accuser out of pressing charges against two narcotics detectives: lawyer
By Shawn Cohen
New York Post
November 23, 2017
A group of NYPD cops showed up at the hospital where an 18-year-old woman was seeking treatment after allegedly being raped by two Brooklyn detectives, in a bid to bully her out of bringing sex assault charges, her lawyer claims.
“They came with nine cops to intimidate her and her mom, to discourage them from coming forward and reporting the rape and sex assault,” Michael David, who represents the accuser, Anna Chambers, told The Post.
One officer in particular questioned Chambers’ story at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, where she had gone with her mom for a rape kit on Sept. 15 around 10:45 p.m., hours after the alleged rape and sexual assault, the lawyer said.
“He kept saying to Anna and her mom, ‘How do you know they were real cops?’ ” David said.
“Didn’t you make complaints about cops before?” the cop allegedly asked.
David said his client had never reported cops before and that the officer was trying to scare her. At one point, the cop allegedly turned to Chambers and insisted, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The cop was among about nine officers from the 60th Precinct to show up at the hospital, which had reported the allegation to police, David said.
The young woman said she was raped by Brooklyn South narcotics Detectives Richard Hall and Eddie Martins in the back seat of their police van while she was handcuffed — and accused both men of forcing her to perform oral sex after she was arrested for possessing drugs.
Hall, 33, and Martins, 37, admitted having sex with her while on the job but claimed it was consensual. They pleaded not guilty last month to a 50-count indictment.
Facing ouster from the NYPD, the two detectives resigned from the department in November. They are currently free on bail.
Chambers told her lawyer that a particularly browbeating cop spoke to her and her mother in their family’s native Russian at the hospital, all the while trying to cover the name tag on his uniform, the attorney said.
“Anna said [the officer] was trying to manipulate a rubber band over his name tag, so she couldn’t see who it was,” David said.
He then became adamant that Chambers and her mom got their story wrong, and at one point nearly chased the mom into the women’s bathroom, the lawyer claims.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Your daughter doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” the officer allegedly said.
“I know what cops look like,” Chambers shouted back. “They had guns, there were handcuffs, and the police radio was on.”
A nurse told the mom, “Don’t be intimidated. Be strong. Be strong for your daughter,” David said.
“The mom stood firm against the cop,” the lawyer said.
Chambers went ahead with the medical exam and rape kit.
DNA from Martins and Hall matched genetic material recovered from Chambers in the rape kit, sources have said.
David said he intends to add the aggressive officer from the hospital to the $50 million notice of claim Chambers has filed against the city, and report the incident to the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
“She’s upset,” David said.
“I’m outraged,” he added. “To me, it’s almost as outrageous as the crime that you have cops trying to intimidate her not to report the crime, trying to protect fellow cops.”
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association declined to comment.
EDITOR’S ADDENDUM: Here is what Anna Chambers herself told the New York Post.
At least nine officers showed up to the hospital trying to intimidate me and my mom.
I was sitting in the room by myself . . . They were pressing me, saying things like, “Oh, this isn’t the first time you’re having an encounter with the police. ….. These [Hall and Martins] are not police.”
I was bawling my eyes out. The way they were speaking with me was so rude and aggressive.
Chambers said the officers doing the talking spoke to her in her native tongue, Russian.
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