Michael Ackermann, former of the 44th Pct., Faces up to 4 Years Behind Bars
(Bronx, NY – October 15, 2015) – Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson announces the conviction of NYPD Officer MICHAEL ACKERMANN on a single count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree, a Class E Felony, for the August 2012 incident during which he arrested New York Times photographer Robert Stolarik.
After a week-long non-jury trial, Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Gross rendered his verdict and set sentencing for December 2, 2015. The 32-year-old ACKERMANN faces up to four years behind bars.
The New York Times photographer was covering a young woman’s arrest at McClellan Street and Sheridan Avenues in the Melrose section of the Bronx during the nighttime hours of August 4th. MICHAEL ACKERMANN was in the process of handcuffing the teenage girl as Stolarik was taking photographs from several feet away with a Nikon camera that was not equipped with a flash.
ACKERMANN claimed that Stolarik repeatedly got “in his face” firing the nonexistent flash over and over again – but it was shown at trial that there was no such equipment on the camera and that he was not close to the arrest taking place. Although Stolarik obeyed another officer’s order to step back, ACKERMANN approached the lensman, grabbed his camera, and arrested him for obstructing governmental administration. Those charges were dismissed.
Shortly after the arrest, ACKERMANN signed a criminal complaint charging Stolarik with obstructing governmental administration, citing the constant camera flashes from inches away. Those charges were eventually dismissed.
ACKERMANN, a 10-year veteran of the NYPD once assigned to the 44th Precinct in the Bronx, is now awaiting departmental action.
The case against MICHAEL ACKERMANN was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Pishoy Yacoub of the Bronx D.A. Rackets Bureau.
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