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Defendant Asks to Face Grand Jury

By RONALD SULLIVAN Publ ished: April 2, 1991

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A New Y ork City correction officer who was charged with assaulting a police officer in a disturbance in Harlem last year is asking to appear before a grand jury so she can accuse the arresting officer of brutality and false arrest. By doing so, however, the correction officer is risking a much longer prison sentence if she is convicted. Officials in the Manhattan District Attorney's office said they could not recall a previous criminal case in which a defendant charged with a misdemeanor had insisted on presenting an accusation to a grand jury, even though doing so would mean the defendant would be charged with more serious crimes.

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Prosecutors and the woman's lawyer say the case is highly unusual in that it pits a defendant's desire for access to a grand jury against the prosecution's almost total control over what evidence and issues are presented to the 23 jurors, who hear only felony cases. The case also is interesting because the woman, 25-year-old Wanda Harris, had originally been charged with three felonies, but the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor over her objections. Adding to the case is the accusation of brutality, an issue which has been raised nationwide since the beating of a motorist in Los Angeles was videotaped and broadcast on news programs.

Stephen Gillers, a New Y ork University law professor who specializes in criminal law, said that "today's climate" over police brutality suggests that the case should be presented to a grand jury. "Why not let the grand jury hear witnesses from both sides so there is no question of the prosecution favoring the police?" Mr. Gillers asked. Ms. Harris was arrested on Jan. 10, 1990, after a confrontation between at least 40 police officers and a large crowd outside the Abraham Lincoln Houses at 132d Street and Madison Avenue. The crowd was protesting the arrest of a 16-year-old suspect, Randolph Johnson, who the residents felt had been subdued with execessive force. The youth and two others were stopped in a drug investigation. Drug charges and charges of resisting arrest against Mr. Johnson were dropped for lack of evidence.

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Ms. Harris, who was six months pregnant at the time, was among the Lincoln residents in Privacy Policy the crowd. The arresting officer, Serge Ruggio, said that during the confrontation, Ms. Harris, who was off-duty and not in uniform, struck him in the face, bit him on the hand MORE IN N.Y. / REGION (1 OF 23 ART ICLES) and incited a riot. She was charged with felonious assault, riot and disorderly conduct. City Room: New York Today: Hurricane MOST E-MAILED MOST VIEWED Sandy, One Year Later But Ms. Harris, who is black, said Officer Ruggio struck her on the back for no reason. She Read More 1 . LOU REED, 1942-2013 Outsider Whose Dark, Ly rical V ision added that when she tried to complain of the blow and to identify herself as a correction Helped Shape Rock n Roll officer, Officer Ruggio, who is white, shouted racial slurs at her. Julie Hart, a 23-year-old friend who was with Ms. Harris at her arrest, said "the only reason why Wanda was arrested was because she couldn't move away as fast as me." "Wanda never did a thing to that cop," Ms. Hart said in an interview. "I said to her, 'Oh Lord, Wanda, forget it.' But she insisted on asking for his badge number and asking him why he hit her in the back." After her arrest, Ms. Harris notified prosecutors that she would waive immunity and testify before a grand jury. Four months later, the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor and she was told she could not testify.
Ms. Harris's lawyer, Bruce Feldman, said he interpreted the reduced charge as a legal move to prevent his client and her friends from testifying before the grand jury. He added that the prosecution might have feared losing its case in front of a grand jury or that Officer Ruggio might have been indicted for brutality and racial bias. No Legal Right to Testify "If this was a cover-up, this was just the way to do it," Mr. Feldman said. "It is my feeling that the decision to reduce the charges was connected with my insistence on taking the case to the grand jury."

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While prosecutors said it was not unusual to reduce felony charges to misdemeanors whenever they determine the evidence will not support the more serious charges, they declined to say why the charges were reduced. Because the charges were reduced, said Nancy Ryan, the assistant district attorney in charge of the trial division, Ms. Harris has no legal right to testify before a grand jury. She said Ms. Harris could present her accusations to Steven Losquadro, the assistant district attorney in charge of the case. If Mr. Losquardo found any basis to Ms. Harris's accusations, she said, he could then present the case to a grand jury, without filing felony charges against Ms. Harris. Mr. Feldman assailed that idea, saying that presenting the evidence to the same person who is prosecuting Ms. Harris would violate her legal rights to due process and a fair trial. He insisted that the only impartial forum would be a grand jury. "Tell me what the prosecution has to lose," he said recently. "If the grand jury doesn't believe her then she is in a much worse position then she is now." 'Interest of Justice' On rare occasions, a judge can overrule a prosecutor and raise a criminal charge to a felony to satisfy what the law stipulates as "the interests of justice." Rejecting Mr. Feldman's request for such an order, Justice Brenda S. Soloff of State Supreme Court ruled on March 18, 1990, that Ms. Harris "argues that the interest of justice in general support her motion to transfer her case to enable the grand jury to exercise its power to investigate her charges against the police." But Justice Soloff upheld what she said was the prosecution's "broad discretion over what is presented to a grand jury." Instead, she said Ms. Harris could file a civil suit or a complaint with the Police Department's Civilian Complaint Review Board. Mr. Feldman assailed Justice Soloff's decision as wrong, saying a civil suit would be too costly and prolonged and that the Civilian Compliant Review Board was ineffective.

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Photo: Wanda Harris, a New Y ork City correction officer who was charged with assaulting a police officer last year, with her lawyer, Bruce Feldman. Ms. Harris is asking to go before a grand jury. (Fred R. Conrad/The New Y ork Times)
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