NYC Cops Claim Victim Sodomized Himself

A man who accuses police of sodomizing him with a baton caused his own injuries while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, lawyers for three New York City police officers told a court yesterday. Tattoo artist Michael Mineo "was digging and digging at his backside," said a lawyer for officer Richard Kern. Kern is charged with sexual assault and two other officers are charged with covering it up, the New York Daily News reports.

Mineo—who doctors said was the victim of an "anal assault," according to a medical report obtained by AP—says he was attacked after officers chased him into a subway station for smoking pot. "He was screaming, 'I can't believe you shoved a walkie-talkie up my ass like I'm some kind of faggot,'" a witness told the court. "And one of them said, 'You are a faggot.'" Defense attorneys said Mineo, who has filed a $220 million civil suit over the incident, is a con artist trying to "scam the city."