A repeat offender with an apparent fondness for shooting at cops lost his $10 million suit against the city yesterday when a jury ruled he was not the victim of a false arrest.
After deliberating less than two hours, a Brooklyn federal jury said cops had probable cause to arrest Damion Henry in 2004 for a stabbing in his neighborhood.
Henry, 27, who represented himself, argued that Detective Charles Platt had it in for him because Henry had beaten an attempted-murder rap in 2002, when he was acquitted of a sniper attack on Police Officer Crystal Jeffrey, who was shot in the arm.
He told jurors that Platt taunted him in the holding cell, saying, “This must be my birthday.”
After the verdict, Platt said, “I don’t abuse kids and certainly don’t ridicule them. I’ve got no animosity toward Damion. He was guilty as hell when he shot Crystal Jeffrey, and should have been convicted. But as far as me [making fun of him] because he got picked up on a charge, that’s not gonna happen.”
Henry is currently serving 25 years for shooting at a restaurant owner who wouldn’t let him smoke. He’s awaiting trial on charges that he shot at two cops with an Uzi after a club owner refused to let him enter with the weapon.