Putnam Valley Man Pleads Guilty to Assault on Handcuffed Prisoner
A Putnam Valley resident pled guilty last week to reckless assault after using excessive force to restrain a defendant in his custody as a Mount Vernon police officer and then lying about the incident.
According to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah, James Ready was in charge of guarding Tyquan Brown on November 23, 2019 after Brown was taken into police custody and was seeking medical attention at Montefiore-Mount Vernon Hospital Emergency Room.
At about 1:30 a.m., Ready, working as a probationary Mount Vernon police officer, was preparing to return Brown, who was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, to police headquarters. While attempting to restrain an unruly Brown, Ready used excessive force in slamming Brown to the floor causing his body and head to strike the floor, resulting in physical injury. The incident was captured on hospital surveillance video.
When questioned about how Brown received his injuries, Ready lied and created a false report about the incident. He resigned from the department soon thereafter.
“James Ready took an oath to protect and serve the people of Westchester County. His actions not only violated the law, but they violated that oath,” Rocah said. “Westchester County is fortunate to have dedicated police officers who work hard to keep the community safe, and we will work together with them to ensure that officers like Ready who harm people in their care and lie about their actions are held accountable.”
Ready pled guilty on August 5 to Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a Class E Felony, and Reckless Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
According to his plea agreement, Ready will receive interim probation for one year. Upon successful completion of that probation, including compliance with all probationary conditions and no new arrests, the felony charge will be vacated and Ready will be sentenced to an additional two years of probation for the remaining misdemeanor assault charge. If unsuccessful, Ready will be sentenced to a term of felony probation, of up to five years.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
