An NYPD officer Tuesday denied “intentionally” pointing a loaded gun in a subordinate’s face amid an alleged campaign of sexual harassment and refused to quit the force via a no-jail plea deal.
“Not guilty, ma’am,” Officer Quilbvio Espinal, 35, said at his Manhattan Supreme Criminal Court arraignment when asked how he wished to plead to felony charges of second-degree menacing and one count of official misconduct stemming from the March 26 incident inside NYPD headquarters.
Assistant District Attorney Jana Loeb said the alleged victim, a civilian employee, was sitting at her desk inside the Information Security Office at 1PP in lower Manhattan in the presence of another colleague when Espinal aimed his weapon at her point-blank.
“The defendant stood up, drew his NYPD-authorized off-duty firearm, pointed it toward civilian No. 2, then slowly raised it up, in line with her body, until it was pointing at the ceiling,” Loeb said. “The defendant paused with his firearm raised, and then slowly brought the firearm back down to his side, all the while keeping it pointed directly toward Civilian No. 2 across from him.”
The prosecutor said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office would drop the official misconduct charge if Espinal agreed to plead guilty to menacing in exchange for resigning from the NYPD, serving two years’ probation with counseling, and completing 10 days of community service.
Espinal rejected the offer.
The alleged victim, Megan Kwan, who was not named in charging papers, reported the incident the same day, and Espinal was arrested. Kwan has claimed in graphic detail in a related lawsuit that the incident culminated two years of relentless sexual harassment by Espinal, who has been on the force a decade.
The 25-year-old Kwan, who was hired in 2021 at the NYPD after an internship program, alleges the officer pulled a gun on her after she made a recommendation about a project he was working on in front of his supervisor, and he became embarrassed.
Jumping to his feet before Manhattan Justice Felicia Mennin on Tuesday, Espinal’s attorney Robert Gottlieb said he wanted to make his own “statement of facts,” vociferously pushing back against the allegations in both the criminal and civil cases. He characterized correspondence between Espinal and Kwan that Kwan has described as sexual harassment as evidence of a close friendship.
“It is so atrociously absurd because we have seen the text messages between the alleged victim here and our client, who had an incredibly close relationship for months and months,” Gottlieb said.
“This is all about money because this so-called victim has already filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages.”
Responding to Gottlieb’s statement, Mennin said that nothing could be regarded as fact unless proven at trial.
“Bottom line is, it’s worth nothing,” the judge said.
Mennin re-ordered Espinal to stay away from Kwan. As of June 1, he was suspended from the NYPD with pay. The NYPD did not immediately respond to a Daily News inquiry on Tuesday regarding the status of his employment.
Outside the courthouse with his arm slung around a frowning Espinal, Gottlieb told the Daily News his client did not “intentionally” stick a gun in his colleague’s face. He declined to elaborate, or say whether Espinal removed his weapon from its holster.
“He never intentionally pointed a loaded gun at anybody,” Gottlieb said. “We’re not discussing it. The facts regarding the gun and what he supposedly did were grossly false, grossly false.”
In a statement, DA Bragg said, “Nobody should have to experience the kind of menacing and dangerous behavior alleged in this troubling incident.”
Kwan’s pending civil suit names as defendants the NYPD, Espinal, and Lt. Jayson Valentin, who she alleges participated in sexual harassment that included the two men denigrating her over being Asian and partially deaf. She claims the lieutenant pressured her to withdraw her complaint about Espinal.
She is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial over claims of sexual harassment, racial harassment, disability-based harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation.
Reached for comment, Kwan’s attorney, John Scola, criticized Gottlieb’s defense strategy.
“My client showed extraordinary bravery in standing up to a sworn officer who pointed a loaded gun at her, only to have his attorney try to drag her name through the mud,” Scola said. “We commend the New York County District Attorney’s Office for refusing to be distracted by these cowardly tactics and pursuing justice on her behalf.”
Espinal is due back in court Sept. 10.