Colonie

An Albany police officer with a troubled history on the force was placed on "administrative duties" Thursday as the Colonie police investigate allegations that he choked and punched a 12-year-old boy on Halloween night while off-duty near his home.

Several witnesses say Michael N. Geraci Jr., 38, jumped in his car and confronted a group of young boys who may have thrown fruit at his residence.

He has not been arrested. But Colonie investigators are examining allegations by the witnesses that Geraci toppled the boy to the ground, picked him up and slammed him on a car and then punched him in the chest, according to a person briefed on the case but not authorized to comment publicly.

Officer Steven Smith, a spokesman for the Albany Police Department, confirmed that Geraci was taken off patrol and placed on "administrative duties."

"Colonie police is investigating an incident that happened on Halloween involving that officer," Smith said, declining further comment.

Geraci's father, Michael Geraci Sr., was once deputy chief of the Colonie police force and went on to become Schenectady police chief in 2002.

Lt. Robert Winn, a spokesman for the Colonie Police Department, said there has been no arrest and the department is trying to determine "who's an actual suspect and who's a victim." Winn said the incident involved an off-duty officer and "several" juveniles, including a 12-year-old boy.

"I can't confirm the name of the officer," Winn said. "I can tell you that we are investigating an incident that took place on Halloween. There has not been any arrest made. However, it is under investigation."

The person briefed on the investigation said the boy who was allegedly grabbed and choked by Geraci was treated by paramedics but not seriously injured. The person said the boy's grandfather came to the scene and asked for State Police to handle the investigation instead of Colonie police.

Cheryl Coleman, an attorney for Geraci, said she did not want to comment directly on the allegations.

"I know that there is an investigation that is ongoing," Coleman said. "There's a lot, actually, that I will be saying on Mike's behalf if and when that investigation culminates in an arrest. But right now, because I've got to act in his best interest, I can't say anything until that time."

In 2006, two years after joining the Albany force, Geraci was cleared by a grand jury of charges he assaulted a 73-year-old man by dragging him out of a police van by the ankles. The man, John Albert Behrmann, a retired dentist who lived in the South End, suffered cuts and bruises in an incident that was captured by a police security camera. Geraci returned to patrol duties after being cleared.

In 2013, Geraci was again removed from patrol duties as the department investigated allegations that, while assigned to a DWI traffic enforcement unit, he followed drivers after staking out city bars and was allegedly abusive to people he arrested. A law enforcement source said that some of the cases were scuttled as a result of the internal investigation.

The DWI-stop investigation of Geraci was triggered by a complaint filed by Michael Alvaro, a former Albany deputy public works commissioner, who was arrested by Geraci on charges of DWI and refusing to take an alcohol screening test. He was also ticketed for unsafe turn and failure to stop at a stop sign. Details of Alvaro's case were not available late Thursday and he did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Detective Kevin Flynn, president of the Albany Police Officers Union, could not be reached for comment.

Geraci has a brother on the Albany police force. In 2008, David King, a writer for Metroland published a story in the Albany weekly newspaper in which he said he witnessed Geraci yelling at patrons and allegedly roughing up a Central Avenue business owner and his wife after the man double-parked his vehicle to unload items into his shop. King wrote that when another business owner asked Geraci for his badge number, the officer allegedly responded: "You sure you can spell? You don't look like you can spell."

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