No Private Criminal Complaint For Now In Taped Beating

The news conference had all the trappings of action -- angry people waving signs, a podium set up for speeches, a pair of attorneys ready to strike.  But an odd thing happened on the northeast corner of City Hall this morning -- the attorneys spent most of the time talking about something they are not going to do, at least for now.

Michael Coard and Willie Nattiel Jr. called the news conference to announce that they would file a private criminal complaint with the District Attorney's Office against police officers videotaped beating and kicking three men during a car stop after a shooting.  But just minutes before the news conference, they decided not to file the complaint.

Nattiel explained that he and Coard, who do not represent the three men, held off because their defense attorneys didn't want the complaint filed and he had heard the U.S. Attorney's Office was looking into the matter.

"They have other ideas about what they want to do and we understand that, because at the end of the day this is not about us lawyers," Nattiel said of the attorneys for the three men.

A grand jury last week issued a report clearing the officers of any wrong-doing during the May 2008 car stop. That sparked a protest Monday by the local branch of the NAACP and the threat of a private criminal complaint.

"What we will do will be stronger than what we initially planned," Coard told the crowd of about 50 without explaining what that would be. "It will be more expansive that we initially planned."