Mount Vernon Officer Arraigned On Excessive Force Accusation

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mount Vernon Police Officer Ryan Hughes was charged at arraignment for using excessive force with a woman under arrest.

District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced that Hughes appeared in Mount Vernon City Court before Judge William Edwards and was charged with Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, a misdemeanor. Following bail law, he was released on his own recognizance.

His next court date is expected to be Aug. 18.

The charge stems from an Aug. 24, 2019, incident inside the Mount Vernon Police Department building.

The complaint alleges that Hughes pushed a handcuffed woman in his custody into an interview room with sufficient force that she tripped over a small garbage pail and stumbled across the room. She struck the far wall, which was made of cinderblock, and fell to the ground. Before entering the interview room, she was clearly intoxicated and complaining of injury. She subsequently received medical attention.

The District Attorney’s Office received an MVPD videotape in January 2020 as part of a discovery disclosure for the underlying case and began an investigation which entailed seeking medical records and interviewing witnesses. Subsequently, the investigation was hampered by the Covid-19 restrictions.

The underlying charges against the victim were dismissed in February.

With his lawyer present, Hughes surrendered June 11 to the District Attorney’s Office in White Plains.

The District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Bureau and Criminal Investigators conducted the investigation. The Public Integrity Bureau will prosecute the case.