He says other officers wouldn't help him when he complained.
"I had sunglasses on, he punched me in the face and it cut my cheek open, and he punched me in the lip but that might have healed already, punched me in the face, threw me up against my car," Chris Gabriele, alleged victim said.
Chris Gabriele says he didn't even get a chance to get out of his car when his neighbor William Joie, an off-duty Nassau County Police Officer, started punching him.
Gabriele says he called the police and when officers showed up, it didn't go as he expected.
"First cop got out of the car and said, "Hi Bill, how are you?" Gabriele said, "They wouldn't take a report. They wouldn't even write anything down for me."
Gabriele says he went to the district attorney's office and filed a complaint.
The DA's office confirms they are investigating the case with the Internal Affairs Unit of the Nassau County Police Department.
Eyewitness News tried to speak with Joie Thursday at his home but no one answered.
A spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department says they're investigating but refused to comment.
"The police are here to protect us, It's just not right," Gabriele said.
---
