Abner Louima
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Abner Louima (b. ?1964 in Thomassin) is a Haitian immigrant who was brutalized by New York City police officers when he was arrested after a brawl outside a Brooklyn nightclub in 1997.
The arresting officers beat Louima in the squad car, and later sexually abused him in a bathroom at the Brooklyn 70th Precinct station house at approximately 4:30 a.m., August 9. Officer Justin Volpe first kicked Louima in the groin, then, while Louima's hands were cuffed behind his back, sodomized him with a toilet plunger, causing severe internal damage to his intestines and bladder that required several operations to repair.
Volpe next moved through the precinct, holding the bloody, feces-stained instrument in his hand and bragged that he had "broke a man down." Given the size of the precinct in question, it would be unlikely for the officers on duty not to have heard the assault or witnessed Volpe's pride in his actions.
Volpe pled guilty to assault and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. Another officer was convicted for pinning Louima down during the assault, and four others were convicted of lying to authorities.
Besides Volpe, the other four officers were Thomas Bruder, Charles Schwarz, Michael Bellomo and Thomas Wiese.
The incident provoked outrage among the Haitian and other minority communities in New York City as well as nationally.
Louima's subsequent civil suit against the city resulted in a settlement of $8.75 million, the largest police brutality settlement in New York City history.
He now lives in Florida.