D.A. booster claims cop abuse in towing fracas

Bryan Malkowski thought yesterday would be one of the best days of his life.

The 26-year-old Port Richmond resident, who volunteered for District Attorney Seth Williams' campaign, was thrilled to attend the top prosecutor's inauguration.

"I couldn't see how this day could go bad," he said.

But soon after the ceremony, Malkowski said that he, his brother and his father, a retired detective from the city's Major Crimes Unit, found themselves in "pandemonium" with city police and the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

The family claims that Malkowski was punched by a cop and that all three men were threatened with arrest for protesting when their van was loaded onto a tow truck even though it was parked legally in a handicapped space. In an unusual move, a PPA official ordered that the vehicle be released on the spot.

The family said that they were then given the runaround when they tried to file a complaint with the Police Department.

The police denied that any officer had acted inappropriately.

After the inauguration, Malkowski; his brother, Jeff; his father, Brian, and his aunt met for an early lunch at Reading Terminal Market.

Malkowski's aunt, 57, who asked not to be named but confirmed her relatives' story, is handicapped and said she placed her parking placard and identification badge on the dashboard of the van when it was parked on Filbert Street near 11th.

When the Malkowskis left Reading Terminal between 11:15 and 11:30 a.m., they saw a tow truck pulling their van down Filbert Street. Since they believed that they had parked legally, they thought that the vehicle was being stolen by a crooked tow-truck driver and called police.

The three men caught up to the PPA driver, who told them that he was towing the van for being parked in a handicapped space, but later told police that the car had been parked in a no-stopping zone, they said.

Once police arrived, the driver was able to find the $301 ticket - for parking in a handicapped space, the Malkowskis said.

Despite the Malkowskis' presenting proper documentation, the police and PPA driver insisted that the vehicle had to be towed because the towing process had begun, Malkowski said.

While a lieutenant on scene was speaking with the PPA driver, Bryan Malkowski was approached from behind and punched in the lower back by Officer Kenneth Emmett, Bryan Malkowski said.

"Without any warning this police officer walks up and hits me like that," Malkowski said. "I mean, you felt it. I didn't know what hit me and I didn't know what he was hitting me for."

Malkowski said that when he asked why he had been punched, the lieutenant on scene told him to shut up.

Capt. Brian Korn, of the 6th District, said that Emmett had denied punching Malkowski.

"The officer denied that he punched anybody," Korn told the Daily News. "He did put his hands up to stop someone from advancing toward another officer."

The elder Malkowski, the retired Major Crimes detective who said that he spent 23 years on the force, supported his son's story.

"Emmett came over and gave him a side shot and told him to back up," he said. "Two or three other cops came over, even to me, even after I identified myself as a former officer, and said 'You better back it up or you'll all get arrested.' "

The Malkowskis said that they were not aggressive or confrontational with the cops.

"You don't get in a cop's face anywhere in this city," the younger Malkowski said. "If I got in that lieutenant's face, I wouldn't be here. I'd be Tased on Filbert Street."

The Malkowskis said that the situation was brought under control only when Clorise Wynn, the PPA's executive director of the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, came out of the nearby PPA offices at their request, assessed the situation and told the tow-truck driver to drop the van on the spot.

But PPA spokesperson Linda Miller said that Wynn had been requested by the cops because the Malkowskis were trying to block the tow truck.

The Malkowskis denied the claim and said that they would have been more likely to be arrested than aided if they had blocked the tow truck.

Miller said that an expedited hearing was held at the authority's Filbert Street branch - while the tow truck waited outside in the street - and that one of the men paid for the $301 ticket.

The Malkowskis denied paying anything.

As to why the car was initially ticketed and towed, Miller said that the Malkowskis put only the aunt's faded identification card on the dashboard. But Korn, in a signed, written request for a cancellation of the ticket yesterday, stated that the placard had been placed on the dashboard.

After regaining control of their van, the Malkowskis said that when they tried to file a complaint against Emmett, they were asked to jump through hoops by officers at the 6th District headquarters, at 11th and Winter streets, then at Police Headquarters, 8th and Race.

They returned to the 6th and finally met with Korn, who told them that they could fill out paperwork and attend hearings regarding the assault allegations, or that Korn could handle the incident in-house, by relegating Emmett to a particular beat or squad, they said.

The younger Malkowski claims that sometime during the meeting, Emmett approached him in a threatening manner and said: " 'I hit you? I hit you hard?' "

Malkowski said that he told the captain that all he wanted was an apology, but was told that apologies are against department policy.

"It's not the practice we allow officers to apologize instead of taking formal action," Korn later told the Daily News.

Korn declined to comment on the conversation he had with the Malkowskis. He said that he had given the Malkowskis the complaint form and instructed them how to file it, but the Malkowskis said that they left his office empty-handed.

The younger Malkowski, who said that he's worked with the Fraternal Order of Police and the department's Explorer Cadet program, said that the alleged punch from an officer affected him more inside than it ever could have outside.

"When they have beef and beer benefits, I'm the first one there, I'm selling the shirts," he said. "To a guy that stands up for them, it hurt, it hurt deep inside."