Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow today announced that an Essex County jury has convicted two Irvington police officers for conspiring to cover up a simple assault captured on a store security camera involving an off-duty officer and a civilian.
Brian Rice, 40, of Irvington, a 13-year veteran of the police force, and Brandis Puryear, 33, of Roselle, a 3-year veteran, were both convicted of 2nd degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct. Rice was also convicted of 2nd degree official misconduct and 3rd degree tampering with evidence.
The jury deliberated for one hour following a week long trial. Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin scheduled sentencing for January 15. Both defendants face up to 10 years in prison.
According to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Naazneen Khan, who tried the case, on November 17, 2007, at approximately 1:30 a.m., off-duty Irvington Police Officer Brandis Puryear was working a part-time security detail at the Pathmark supermarket, located at 471 Lyons Avenue in Irvington. Officer Brian Rice, who also was off-duty at the time, was shopping in the store when he encountered a verbal dispute between a civilian and Brandis Puryear. When Rice allegedly interceded, the situation escalated to the point where the off-duty officer punched the civilian in the face. Soon thereafter, allegedly Rice and Puryear requested a videotape of the in-store surveillance camera system from another security officer in an attempt to cover up the incident. The alleged crime was discovered following an investigation by Irvington Police’s Internal Affairs (IA) Unit.
On February 20, 2008, Irvington IA contacted the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office to conduct a separate investigation. A security guard at the supermarket testified yesterday in court that he witnessed Officer Rice take from the store’s security office surveillance videotapes showing the officer punching a customer. The videotapes captured Rice earlier that evening as he argued with a customer before punching him in the face. However, despite Rice’s best efforts to seize the evidence, detectives were able to obtain satellite footage of the incident captured at Pathmark headquarters in Carteret, New Jersey.
"It’s a sad day for law enforcement when police officers are convicted of a crime. Police officers are provided with the public’s trust and will be held accountable when they breach that trust," said Prosecutor Dow.
Prosecutor Dow commended Assistant Prosecutor Khan for a hard fought trial victory, as well as, Lt. Amanda Koontz of the Irvington Police Department and Lt. Ted Zangari and Det. Stephen Masi of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Professional Standards Unit for the investigation.