Man acquitted after 24 years in prison sues NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who spent 24 years in prison before being retried and acquitted in a 1989 New York City killing is suing police, saying detectives mishandled the investigation.

Derrick Deacon is seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed recently against the city.

Deacon was convicted in the 1989 shooting death of a teenager during a robbery in a Flatbush apartment complex. He was granted a new trial in 2012 after one witness recanted and an FBI cooperator identified a different man as the shooter.

It took a jury nine minutes to acquit Deacon in 2013.

His lawyer, Earl Ward, says the case reflects “gross misconduct” by detectives.

Deacon also has an ongoing $25 million lawsuit against the state.