Off-duty officer allegedly beat pedestrian he almost hit

A New York City police officer has been charged with brutally beating a pedestrian whom he almost struck moments earlier with his car as the man was crossing Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills.
The officer was off-duty at the time of the alleged incident which occurred two weeks ago and was allegedly sparked by the pedestrian hitting the officer’s car after the near-miss.
Jamel Dennis, 32, who is assigned to the NYPD’s Brooklyn North Narcotics District, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on a charge of second-degree assault, a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Dennis was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on January 15, 2009.
According to the charges, Dennis was driving along Queens Boulevard on the afternoon of November 17, when he almost struck Geoffrey Hollinden, 41, who was crossing near 109th Street. Enraged at nearly being struck, Hollinden allegedly hit the rear of Dennis’ 2006 Infiniti as it passed him. Moments later, it is alleged, Dennis, who is six foot, six inches in height, stepped from his car and grabbed Hollinden around the waist, pulling him southbound across Queens Boulevard as he struggled to free himself. As they reached the eastbound service lane of Queens Boulevard, Dennis allegedly lifted Hollinden to shoulder height before slamming him to the pavement, knocking him unconscious. Hollinden sustained a laceration to the head that required five staples, as well as cranial bleeding, a herniated disc in the neck and substantial pain that caused him to be hospitalized at a local hospital for three days.
It is further alleged that two days later, Dennis appeared at the NYPD’s 112th Precinct and identified himself as an officer assigned to the Brooklyn North Narcotics District. The man allegedly stated that he had been involved in a traffic dispute with another man who had pushed him and wanted to know if anyone had come in to file a complaint in connection with the incident. That same day, the defendant allegedly pointed out a scuff mark on the rear of his Infiniti to an officer assigned to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and stated that was where the other man had hit the back of his car.
The case came to light, according to the DA, when an eyewitness who observed the incident jotted down the license plate of the defendant’s car.