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James Ready, age 27, of Putnam Valley, pleaded guilty this week to falsifying business records, a felony, and reckless assault, a misdemeanor, following an incident with a prisoner in 2019 in Mount Vernon.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that on Nov. 23, 2019, Ready, who was a probationary officer with the Mount Vernon Police Department, was in charge of a suspect in police custody who had been taken to the Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital emergency room to seek medical attention.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. that night, Ready was attempting to return the suspect to Mount Vernon Police Headquarters for processing, Rocah said.
At the time, while the suspect was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, Ready allegedly picked up the suspect, flipped him over, and threw him to the floor headfirst, causing serious injury. The incident was captured on a hospital surveillance video.
It is further alleged that Ready falsified official records by recording a false narrative of the incident. He resigned from the Mount Vernon Police Department shortly after the incident.
"James Ready took an oath to protect and serve the people of Westchester County. His actions not only violated the law, but they violated that oath,” Rocah said.
“Westchester County is fortunate to have dedicated police officers who work hard to keep the community safe, and we will work together with them to ensure that officers like Ready who harm people in their care and lie about their actions are held accountable.”
According to his plea agreement, Ready will receive interim probation for one year. Upon successful completion of that probation, including compliance with all probationary conditions and no new arrests, the felony charge will be vacated and Ready will be sentenced to an additional two years of probation for the remaining misdemeanor assault charge.
If unsuccessful, Ready will be sentenced to a term of felony probation, of up to five years.
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