Kenny Lazo should've been taken straight to ER by Suffolk police, expert witness says

Suffolk County police should have taken Kenny Lazo directly to the emergency room after an altercation that left his face bruised and eventually culminated in his death, a police expert testified Tuesday.

Timothy Longo, currently chief of police at the University of Virginia and an adjunct professor at the law school, testified that Suffolk police violated several commonly accepted standard practices during and after Lazo's arrest on April 12, 2008.

Police “absolutely” should have taken Lazo, 24, for immediate medical attention, Longo said, testifying for the plaintiff in federal court in Central Islip in the wrongful-death lawsuit by Lazo’s family against police.

“He had visible injuries to the face and he was struck in the head,” Longo said. "The man died," he added.

But he also said that, through his study of documents from the case, it did not appear Lazo had ever requested medical attention.

Marc Lindemann , a Suffolk County attorney representing the police, in his questioning, sought to underscore that Lazo's injuries were superficial. He showed internal police guidelines that call for officers to determine whether medical assistance is needed immediately.

Lazo’s family is seeking $55 million in damages and $100 million in punitive damages in the lawsuit.

Police had stopped Lazo on an entrance ramp to the Southern State Parkway in Bay Shore for traffic violations and suspected drug dealing. Police say he fought back, tried to flee and grabbed for an officer’s gun. According to testimony, police beat him with a flashlight to subdue him.

His family contends police should have taken him to the hospital immediately for treatment. Instead, they took him to the Third Precinct in Bay Shore, where he was later found unconscious in a cell. He was rushed to South Side Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy conducted by the Suffolk County medical examiner determined that Lazo died from cardiac arrest “following exertion associated with physical altercation with multiple blunt impacts.” It also concluded that obesity was a factor in Lazo’s death.

Police contend there is no way they could have known Lazo was going to suffer cardiac arrest after he sustained what a former Suffolk medical examiner testified were superficial abrasions and bruises.

In afternoon testimony, retired Suffolk Police Officer Joseph Link, one of the officers involved in the arrest, took the stand again, and said he did not ask Lazo if he wanted to go to the hospital or any other medical attention.

He said Lazo seemed agitated on the way from the scene of the altercation to the precinct, though Link did not ask why. He said he told Lazo to stop moving around in the back seat.

Link, under questioning by plaintiff attorney Fred Brewington, denied that when they arrived at the precinct, another officer had to help Lazo walk in.

Earlier, Longo testified that police violated other standard practices, including by hitting Lazo on the head with a metal flashlight — an action that “can cause death or serious bodily harm.”

He also testified that Suffolk police’s internal affairs investigation into Lazo’s death was shoddy, with only written statements, for instance, and no interviews done with the officers involved.

Lindemann pointed out during cross-examination that department guidelines allow them to use any object at their disposal during an emergency — and that when a suspect reaches for an officer’s gun, that clearly meets the criteria.

He noted that there are different levels of injuries to consider when deciding if immediate medical attention is warranted.

Addressing Longo's assertions of a superficial investigation, Lindemann displayed numerous pages from Internal Affairs investigations into Lazo's case, and asked Longo about them.