NYPD officer poses as 311 operator, threatens man complaining about illegal parking at station

A Brooklyn man who repeatedly filed complaints about police officers parked on the sidewalk outside his local precinct station house – prompting a menacing call from an NYPD cop posing as a 311 operator – has received a $25,000 settlement, a city watchdog announced on Monday.

Two NYPD officers had to contribute $500 each towards the payout, the city Conflicts of Interest Board said.

Over nine months in 2021, Downtown Brooklyn resident Justin Sherwood filed 901 complaints over the vehicles parked on the sidewalk outside the 84th Precinct station house. Police officers illegally parking on sidewalks outside of police precincts has long been a complaint of street safety advocates.

On Sept. 10, 2021, Sherwood received a bizarre phone call.

In a recording of the call provided to Gothamist, NYPD Officer John Madera, identifying himself as a 311 operator named “Josh Hayden,” asked Sherwood, “Why do you keep putting over the same 311 job over and over and over again?”

“This is happening every day, this is becoming a chronic situation,” the operator said.

“Yes, it is a chronic situation. There’s multiple vehicles parked on the sidewalk,” Sherwood replied.

The operator responded by saying, “This location is in front of a transit precinct.” Sherwood replied, “They’re still not allowed to park on the sidewalk.”

The operator eventually warned Sherwood, “You might be barred from the [311] system going forward.”

Madera confirmed he had posed as “Josh Hayden” on the call in a notice from the Conflicts of Interest Board. The NYPD disciplined him by taking away 15 vacation days, according to the board.

Hear the call between Sherwood and an NYPD officer posing as a 311 operator.

“I acknowledge that, by using the complainant’s personal contact information to give him false information in an attempt to discourage him from filing 311 complaints about parking practices at my precinct, I used confidential information to advance a private interest,” Madera wrote in the COIB document. Contact information and details in 311 complaints are confidential.

Sherwood alleges in a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court that the call wasn't the only response to his many complaints. He says NYPD Detective Samantha Sturman — also of the 84th Precinct — called him in August 2021, seeking to arrange a meeting to discuss the parking issues. Sherwood declined, prompting an argument that concluded with Sturman ending the call by yelling, "Stop calling, d---head!" the suit states.

Two months later, on Oct. 18, 2021, Streetsblog first reported on the suspicious 311 call. Sherwood’s lawsuit states he received a text message that same day from an unknown number stating “Keep f------ around.” Separate investigations by NYPD's internal affairs investigators and the Civilian Complaint Review Board established misconduct against Sturman in connection with the "singular threatening text message," Deputy Chief Lourdes Soto wrote in a letter to the CCRB.

A judge approved Sherwood's settlement earlier this month, ordering the city to pay $24,000 and Madera and Sturman to each pay $500.

The Police Benevolent Association — the union representing NYPD police officers — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sherwood's lawyer Gideon Oliver said he couldn’t comment on the case because much of the evidence remains sealed. He’s asking the judge overseeing the case to make the records public.

“Part of what’s important to Mr. Sherwood is being able to shed as much light as possible on what happened to him and on the city’s responses or lack of responses,” said Oliver. Sherwood's legal team received a $132,500 from the city for legal fees as part of the settlement.

The debate over police officers parking illegally outside their precincts has sparked outrage among good government and advocacy groups in recent years. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019 announced his administration would crack down on city employees who abused parking placards — but advocates argue the move did little to keep police from parking on sidewalks.

Federal prosecutors last year filed a “statement of interest” in a lawsuit filed by disabled residents of a Bronx neighborhood, which stated the NYPD and other city agencies are required to keep sidewalks clear of obstructions or risk violating federal law.

And when Mayor Eric Adams was Brooklyn borough president, advocates regularly complained that he allowed his staff to park illegally on sidewalks and plazas outside of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

On Tuesday, illegally parked cars still lined the sidewalk outside the 84th Precinct in Downtown Brooklyn — the main source of Sherwood’s 311 complaints.

“They’re doing whatever they want,” said Cooper Schoenthaler, 24, who lives nearby. “It’s a little bit ironic when you walk around here and see all the cop cars on the sidewalk.”

This story was updated with additional information on the allegations.