Retired Corrections Officer Claims Garden City Police Mistakenly Beat Him "I'm One Of You & You Disrespect It!"

A retired Nassau County corrections officer claims he was beaten by officers in a case of mistaken identity. Ronald Lanier said he was shopping in the Western Beef Supermarket in Mineola on Nov. 30 when he was tackled, handcuffed and beaten by officers with the Garden City Police Department. “I’ve never been cursed, physically abused, beaten and treated like a slave as I was two days ago,” Lanier said, breaking down as he described how he landed in handcuffs and in a hospital. “For somebody to grab me by the neck in the supermarket, and I’m telling you, ‘I’m one of you,’ and you disrespect it — it was like you’re just another black dude.” Lanier, who retired after two decades as a Nassau County corrections officer, claims he complied and explained to the officers that he was law enforcement, but they just laughed.