City lawyers say they’ve poked a hole in the claim of evidence tampering by an alleged police sodomy victim.
Time stamps on photos of Michael Mineo’s underwear indicate that the briefs were not cut or altered while in police custody, but appear to be different because of “bunching of the fabric” that creates an “optical illusion,” according to documents filed by the city.
Lawyers representing Mineo, a Brooklyn tattoo artist who is suing the city in federal court, claiming he was sodomized by police, say their client’s drawers were ripped when police rammed a baton into his rectum.
The city’s lawyers yesterday filed a response to claims made last week by Mineo’s lawyers that police investigators altered the evidence. The city denies Mineo was ever abused and claims he ripped the boxers himself to make it look as though he was.