Former Mount Vernon Cop Guilty Plea In Assault On Handcuffed Man

Mount Vernon NY

06 August, 2021

4:43 PM

Description

MOUNT VERNON — A former Mount Vernon police officer has entered a guilty plea in a case of police brutality. Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced that former Mount Vernon cop James Ready pled guilty to falsifying records and reckless assault on Thursday after using excessive force to restrain a defendant in his custody. The brutal attack was caught on surveillance cameras, but the defendant later lied about the incident in an effort to cover up the assault. The former Mount Vernon cop from Putnam Valley, pled guilty to felony falsifying of business records and misdemeanor reckless assault. "James Ready took an oath to protect and serve the people of Westchester County," Rocah said. "His actions not only violated the law, but they violated that oath. 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." On November 23, 2019, Ready, who was a probationary Mount Vernon police officer, was in charge of guarding Tyquan Brown, who was in police custody and had been taken to Montefiore-Mount Vernon Hospital Emergency Room to seek medical attention. At around 1:30 a.m., Ready was preparing to return Brown, who was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, to MVPD 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 later resigned from the department. 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.