New York - Three New York police officers were jailed yesterday for their part in torturing a Haitian immigrant in a police bathroom three years ago, bringing to a close one of the most contentious chapters in the history of the NYPD, writes Patrick Markey. Images of the victim, Mr Abner Louima, recovering from his injuries in a Brooklyn hospital sparked outrage in the city, where months of protests heightened tensions between the police department and New York's minority communities.
In June last year, police officer Justin Volpe was found guilty of beating Mr Louima and sodomising him with a broken broomstick in a police station bathroom after the officers arrested the Haitian man during a brawl outside a Brooklyn nightclub. Volpe is serving a 30-year sentence.
Yesterday, three other former officers involved in the incident were given jail terms ranging from five to 15 years.