dictionary

Cop in Louima assault case indicted for perjury

Charles Schwarz

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A federal grand jury Monday indicted former New York City police officer Charles Schwarz on two counts of perjury related to his testimony in the Abner Louima police brutality case.

The indictment charged that Schwarz lied twice under oath on February 23, 2000, when he testified about the identity of officers present during the assault on Louima in a Brooklyn police station.

"We're not surprised," said a spokeswoman for Ron Fischetti, Schwarz's attorney.

The Louima assault occurred August 9, 1997, after police arrested the Haitian immigrant in a scuffle outside a nightclub. Louima was sodomized with a broomstick handle inside the 70th precinct station house.

RESOURCES Indictment: U.S. v. Schwarz  (FindLaw document, PDF format)     LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

In 1999, a jury found Schwarz guilty of violating Louima's civil rights by pinning him down during the assault. A year later, a second jury convicted Schwarz, Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese of conspiring to obstruct a grand jury investigation of the 1997 attack.

Earlier this month, the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of the three police officers. Schwarz was released on $1 million bail. A new trial for Schwarz on the civil rights charges was set for June 24.

On Monday, acting U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad charged that Schwarz lied about the identity of the officers present during the assault.

"Today's charges reflect the government's determination that the defendant be held accountable for this corruption of the judicial fact-finding process," Vinegrad said in a statement.