A former NYPD officer, who was found guilty of lying about the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident involving a teenage suspect in a Bronx hallway over ten years ago, defended his actions as he managed to avoid a prison sentence on Monday.
Judge Seth Steed sentenced Danny Acosta to probation and imposed a $2,500 fine, despite Bronx prosecutors pushing for a minimum two-year prison term following his perjury conviction related to the 2009 shooting incident.
The 46-year-old former officer appealed for leniency before Judge Steed, maintaining that he had no alternative but to fire at 17-year-old Peter Colon during a tense and dangerous confrontation.
“Deep down, I believe I made the right decision,” Acosta stated in the courtroom. “I not only saved my partner’s life but also my own.” He reflected on the incident, adding, “No one understands what it feels like. I have thought about this every day since it happened.”
In his 2009 testimony to a Bronx grand jury, Acosta claimed he shot Colon from a distance to protect his partner. However, during subsequent civil proceedings, it was revealed that he had actually fired at the teenager’s back at close range, as Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark highlighted in a statement.
Acosta told a Bronx grand jury in 2009 that he shot Colon from a distance to save his partner’s life, but it came out years later during civil litigation that he really fired into the young man’s back at close range, District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement.
Colon said during the trial earlier this year that the officer had his knee on his back when he shot him.
He said he was still suffering from the shooting when delivering a victim impact statement from Washington County jail Monday.
“The tragic event that happened has left me with surgery and therapy and I am still dealing with pain in my lower back,” he said.
“I want to thank my family, my son, and my friends and I appreciate everyone’s support as well. I pray that Mr. Acosta becomes a better person from this experience. I wish him nothing but the best. I can finally receive closure.”
Colon, who clinched a $500,000 settlement due to the shooting, was initially hit with assault and weapons charges, but the case fell apart when Acosta refused to testify in front of a second grand jury.
It was not immediately clear why he was in jail in the Hudson Valley.
The years-long saga was exclusively exposed by The Post, including Acosta admitting his lies to a city Law Department attorney under the assumption of confidentiality. But instead, the lawyer reported the comments to the NYPD.
Post reporter Craig McCarthy testified at the trial in April, recalling his interview with Acosta, who bemoaned that the lawyer “f—ked me.”
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Gradinger argued in court Monday that Acosta should be sentenced to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison after he was convicted of four counts of first-degree perjury, first-degree tampering with public records and two counts of official misconduct in April.
“It was very clear that the shot was not good. This case goes to the heart of the criminal justice system. What this defendant did not only compromises the integrity of the criminal justice system, it poisons each and every one of those jurors,” the prosecutor said.
“In addition, what this defendant did is totally a gut punch to the vast majority of hardworking officers who give their lives saving this community.”
Acosta lost his job in 2021, but was first indicted in 2018. His first trial ended in a mistrial.
Defense lawyer William Martin insisted Acosta, a married father of two, had already lost his job and slammed Colon for finding himself in other legal turmoil.
Acosta, whose probation will last five years, said he was glad he got to go home with his family.
“I feel good instead of going in,” he told The Post, while surrounded by family.
Clark, the Bronx DA, slammed Acosta for his web of fibs.
“It took 16 years, but finally truth and justice won out,” she said in a statement.
