MEATPACKING DISTRICT — An off-duty NYPD officer who just graduated from the Police Academy was assaulted by five men from Long Island in front of a bar on Little West 12th Street, sources said.
Officer Timothy Keane, 24, is a rookie assigned to the 88th Precinct in Fort Greene, and was in the Meatpacking District when he heard people arguing outside Brass Monkey at 55 Little West 12th St. about 1:42 a.m. on Jan. 3, police said.
Police said Keane identified himself as a police officer and tried to mediate the dispute.
Surveillance video from outside the bar that was described in court records apparently shows Matthew Tacktill, 23, punching Keane in the face. Two eyewitnesses told police they also saw Thomas Gagliardi, 23, punch Keane in the face, police said in court records.
Keane crumpled to the ground and was bleeding from the mouth, one of the eyewitnesses told police, according to court documents.
He was punched all over his face and body by five people, sources said.
When officers from the 6th Precinct arrived at the scene, a witness pointed out five men to them, police said in court records.
The officers arrested five men from Long Island, including Tacktill and Gagliardi, on charges of felony gang assault, police said.
But Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance dropped charges against three of the men, and lowered the charges against Tacktill and Gagliardi, to the chagrin of the 6th Precinct.
"The police department is very upset," one source said. "It's still being investigated."
"It doesn't make any sense," said another source, who added that assaulting a police officer is a felony.
They said the video of the assault was galling.
"This kid [Keane] is talking to four guys and some guy just came up from 10 feet away and clocked him," one source said. "I don't know how you don't win this case, the video's right there. It shows it. It's easy."
A spokeswoman for Vance's office declined to comment.
The two suspects, both 23, were arraigned on charges of assault with intent to cause physical injury, assault recklessly causing physical injury, attempted assault with intent to cause physical injury, all misdemeanors.
They were also issued violations for harassment in the second degree.
A judge set bail for both men at $2,500, which they paid in cash. Both men appeared again in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, dressed in slacks and button-down shirts.
After the court appearance, defense attorneys for both men expressed confidence that their clients would not serve jail time.
"The case is still being investigated by the District Attorney's office and we feel when the facts of the case come out, the results will be favorable to our clients," said Louis Chaisari, a lawyer for Thomas Gagliardi. Tacktill's lawyer concurred.
A manager at the Brass Monkey declined to comment, other than to say that the five men who were arrested had not been inside the bar prior to the incident.
