A federal civil rights lawsuit announced on Thursday seeks damages on behalf of Brian Kendall, whose 1989 conviction in the fatal shooting of Raphael Reyes was vacated earlier this month following an investigation by the Kings County District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit.
Filed by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the lawsuit names the City of New York and former New York City Police Department detectives, alleging constitutional violations during the investigation and prosecution that led to Kendall's wrongful arrest and conviction.
According to the complaint, Kendall was 17 when he was arrested in connection with the February 1988 shooting inside a Brooklyn game room. The lawsuit alleges eyewitnesses and responding officers described a gunman who did not match Kendall's appearance and identified Kendall as one of the people who pursued the shooter after the incident.
“For almost forty years, I lived with the consequences of a conviction for a crime I did not commit. I lost my freedom, I lost precious time with my family, and I was forced to rebuild my life thousands of miles away from the people I love. Nothing can give me those years back, but I hope this lawsuit brings accountability for what happened to me and helps prevent anyone else from enduring the same injustice,” Kendall said in a statement.
The complaint further alleges investigators relied on unreliable witness statements and suggestive identification procedures while failing to disclose evidence supporting Kendall's innocence or identifying another suspect.
After about 16 months in pretrial detention, Kendall pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in 1989. The lawsuit alleges prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence that would have significantly undermined the case against him. Kendall ultimately served more than 16 years in prison before being released and later deported to Guyana.
The case is the latest wrongful conviction to emerge from Brooklyn following a review by the Kings County District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit, which has reexamined decades-old cases where questions about investigative practices and the handling of evidence have been raised. It also underscores the long-term consequences of wrongful convictions, including incarceration, family separation and deportation.
The complaint asserts federal civil rights and New York state law claims, including fabrication of evidence, malicious prosecution, denial of due process and suppression of exculpatory evidence. Kendall is seeking compensatory damages, attorneys' fees and other relief the court deems appropriate.
The case will now move forward in federal court, where the City of New York and the former NYPD detectives named in the lawsuit will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
