2015/11/27

Max Chantha | November 26, 2015

NEW YORK – One boy’s night of trick-or-treating became a nightmare of choke-and-punch after he drew the ire of an off-duty police officer in Colonie, New York. Despite beating the unnamed 12-year-old boy badly enough to leave him with marks, officer Michael Geraci, Jr. has yet to be charged.

The shameful incident occurred after the victim and several friends passed by the Geraci house on Halloween. Having had issues with Geraci’s son – as well as the officer himself – in the past, the victim admitted that he threw a pear onto the roof of the Geraci house and left the area.

Geraci then hunted down the boy, recklessly driving at high speeds on a busy pedestrian night. When he finally found the victim, he leapt out of his personal car and picked him up by the throat before throwing him to the ground. He then punched him in the chest while choking him, in front of his friends.

When the victim’s grandfather arrived, he saw his grandson injured on the ground while responding Colonie officers shook hands with Geraci. Geraci was then allowed to drive away from the crime scene, despite basic police protocol. Having seen this obvious conflict of interest, the grandfather called the State Police, hoping that they would take a more objective stance on the incident. Somewhat unsurprisingly, they refused, citing the presence of Colonie officers as sufficient and ignoring the grandfather’s accusations of mishandling.

When Geraci returned to the scene, he launched into an expletive filled tirade against the grandfather, including calling the old man a ‘scumbag’ for trying to ensure the safety and due process his grandson deserved.

The victim and Geraci’s son appear to have had years’ worth of bad bloodThe victim’s father alleges that in 2010, the clearly unstable Geraci pulled down the victim’s pants while he was playing basketball with his son and other children.

This is not the first accusation of rampant abuse of power against Geraci. He has had numerous complaints against him, including injuring another senior citizen by dragging him by his ankles from a police van, abusing arrestees, and numerous instances of false arrest. Geraci’s aggressive actions and misuse of force have not only forced prosecutors to drop several cases, but forced the city to pay tens of thousands of dollars in settlements to his victims.

If a police officer can not only physically assault but also wantonly bully children, then the public is right to have major concerns about the efficacy and goals of any police department. The fact that Geraci’s brothers in blue appeared to congratulate him for beating a middle school student are proof positive that the thin blue line protects officers from punishment or judgment by their peers for even the most disgraceful of crimes.

Unfortunately, this incident merely gives credence to the public’s perception that many officers are childish bullies, who become police officers so that they can continue abusing others with impunity. While it is incomprehensible that such an obvious criminal has yet to be charged, we can only hope that as the case develops Geraci will face charges for child abuse.