Shirley man convicted of assaulting cop in DWI
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The packed Mineola courtroom was silent Monday as the jury foreman stood to read the verdict in the case of the man charged with slamming drunk into the back of a Nassau police car.
"Guilty," he said finally, ending days of suspense over the fate of Rahiem Griffin, the Shirley man who hit Nassau Officer Kenneth Baribault's police car on the Long Island Expressway in May 2008, leaving Baribault with severe brain damage and partial paralysis.
On one side of the courtroom, Baribault's family wiped tears of relief from their eyes. On the other, Griffin's wife, Stephanie, blinked back her own tears, cradling the couple's sleeping 8-month-old girl on her shoulder.
Griffin, 28, could serve up to 7 years in prison for second-degree reckless assault, his most serious conviction. County Court Judge Jerald Carter will sentence him July 22.
"I'm just relieved that the good guys came out on top this time," Baribault's mother, Patricia, said after the verdict. Baribault, who demonstrated his injuries on the witness stand last week, plans to attend Griffin's sentencing, his sister said.
Griffin's family spoke only through his lawyer, Gerard Brogdon of Jamaica.
"They'd like to convey their sincerest wishes for the best for Officer Baribault," Brogdon said. "This is a tragedy on both sides."
Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said she hopes the case will finally alert people to the dangers of drinking and driving.
"When is enough going to be enough?" she said.
Griffin was returning home after a night out with friends in the Bronx when he crashed into Baribault. The officer had stopped on the side of the Long Island Expressway in Plainview after pulling over another suspected drunken driver. Griffin's driver's license had been suspended at the time.
Prosecutor Maureen McCormick told the jury that Griffin didn't care whom he hurt when he drove into the city on a suspended license that night, had several drinks at a nightclub, and then headed 60 miles home without sleeping.
She said Griffin even continued to drink on his drive home, leaving an orange juice bottle containing alcohol outside his wrecked Mercedes-Benz.
In his testimony, Griffin conceded that he had a suspended license and had had too much to drink to drive safely. But he denied drinking on the road, and said he had sincerely believed he was OK to drive. He said he should not be convicted of reckless assault.
Griffin's case spurred Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi a year ago to begin posting the names and photos of accused drunken drivers on the county's online "Wall of Shame." He has since amended it to include only those who have been convicted.
Posted Monday, June 15, 2009
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