Opinion ID: 1314955
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: John Mark Reimer

Text: John Mark Reimer, a Sergeant in the Westchester County Department of Correction, had both state and federal transactional immunity, and had testified as the State's principal witness in the prior state prosecution. Reimer testified that on October 10, 2000, he was on duty as a Correction Officer in the Westchester County Jail and, with Correction Officer Kenneth Meade, was assigned to Cell Block # 1-G, which contained inmates who require more active supervision because they suffer from mental health issues. At approximately 4:30 P.M., Coté relieved Meade for dinner. Coté then assumed Meade's post outside of the cell block. Shortly before 5:00 P.M., Reimer directed two trustee inmatesinmates from other parts of the facility who were assigned to observe the persons housed in Cell Block # 1-Gto clean out Teodorovic's cell because it was unkempt and Teodorovic had refused to do so. While the trustees were cleaning his cell, Teodorovic stood in the hallway. After the cell cleaning was finished, Reimer, through a loudspeaker from the Security Control Center (the Bubble), ordered Teodorovic to return to his cell. When Teodorovic refused to comply, Reimer left the Bubble, approached Teodorovic, and repeated his order. In response, Teodorovic muttered, no, no, TV. Reimer testified that he instructed Teodorovic to return to his cell, at which point he was unexpectedly punched by Teodorovic in his lower cheek area, hard enough to close [his] jaw and ... [he] bit the inner portion of [his] cheek inadvertently, and it created a little blood blister. Reimer grabbed Teodorovic with both arms in a bear hug, and pulled him to the ground. According to Reimer, he did so by bending his knees and using his superior weight to force Teodorovic to the ground. Reimer later testified that he broke their fall with his right hand and that he did not see Teodorovic's head strike the floor, but acknowledged on cross-examination that he had testified during the state prosecution that Teodorovic's head may have bounced on the ground during his initial take-down. He also explained that he was kneeling above Teodorovic at the waist area, in the middle of his body, and that Teodorovic's left hand was underneath his body and his right hand was free, which [he] was holding down. Reimer stated that Teodorovic was wiggling, appeared to be struggling, appeared uncomfortable. According to Reimer, at this point, Officer Coté came up along side [of him] and he began to punch ... Teodorovic in the chest and the head. He recalled two punches to the head, two punches to the chest, and one slap to the rear of the chest area. The punches were with a closed fist and the slap was open-handed. After Reimer said enough, Coté got up to his feet and began to kick Teodorovic in the chest area and then in the head. Reimer described two direct kicks to the chest, one direct stomp to the face, and two direct kicks to the face. At the same time, Reimer testified that Coté was yelling at Teodorovic, `You never hit an officer. You never hit an officer. Don't you ever hit a Correction Officer again.' But Reimer was yelling at Coté to stop: Q: What, if anything, did you say to the defendant while he was kicking and stomping Mr. Theodorovic [sic]? A: I said, Paulie, Paulie, Paulie. Stop, Paulie. What are you doing? And I justI looked at him and I said, Paulie. I remember saying Paulie about three times, yelling at him, trying to get his attention to stop, and it didn't look like I was getting through to him. Although Teodorovic was still wiggling during this application of force by Coté, he soon stopped moving and lost consciousness. He remained in a coma for approximately fourteen months, until he died on December 21, 2001. Reimer testified that immediately following the assault he saw Coté filling out a Special Report, which is a standardized form used by officers to document unusual incidents. Coté's Special Report diverged from Reimer's account of the incident in a number of ways. For example, Coté claimed that both he and Reimer pulled Teodorovic to the ground and while they were wrestling Teodorovic's head hit the ground. According to Reimer, Coté approached him while he was at the hospital's emergency room to seek treatment for his wrist injury and urged him to [stick] to the story that was documented in his report. Reimer testified that although he initially went along with Coté and dictated his Special Report to track Coté's, he changed his mind after learning that Teodorovic was brain dead and decided to contact an attorney and cooperate in the state investigation into the incident.