A Bronx jury on Friday, April 24, 2026, convicted former NYPD Officer Danny Acosta on multiple criminal counts tied to his sworn accounts of a 2009 stairwell shooting at a Claremont public-housing complex. The decision caps a long-running saga that mixed internal discipline, civil litigation and years of investigative coverage. Acosta is set to be sentenced next month.
Verdict and next steps
The jury found Acosta guilty of one count of first-degree tampering with public records, four counts of first-degree perjury and two counts of official misconduct, with sentencing scheduled for June 8, 2026, according to the New York Post. Prosecutors moved to have Acosta remanded immediately after the verdict, but the judge instead allowed him to remain free until the June sentencing date.
The disputed 2009 shooting
At trial, prosecutors zeroed in on Acosta's sworn descriptions of the October 4, 2009 arrest of 17-year-old Peter Colon inside a Claremont stairwell. Acosta had originally testified that he fired his weapon after Colon allegedly placed a gun to his partner's head. As summarized in Justia court records, Acosta told a grand jury and later stated in a deposition that he shot from about 10 feet away. Subsequent civil-case materials include a correction to that testimony and a "Diamond Errata" listing changes to his sworn account.
Internal files and department findings
An NYPD disciplinary file produced during related litigation details administrative findings that Acosta committed perjury and tampered with public records. In that file, first-degree perjury and first-degree tampering with public records are treated as felonies, while official misconduct is listed as a misdemeanor. The document spells out the specific charges and factual bases that later fed into the criminal indictment, according to the NYPD.
Media reporting and courtroom testimony
Prosecutors also leaned on material first surfaced by news outlets. Coverage in the New York Post notes that the paper's police reporter, Craig McCarthy, took the stand for the prosecution on April 13 and 14. The Post reported that its exclusive work, including court filings and lab analyses cited in court, was used to highlight inconsistencies in Acosta's various versions of the shooting.
Legal context
Under New York law, perjury in the first degree and tampering with public records in the first degree are classified as class D felonies, while official misconduct is typically treated as a misdemeanor. Those same classifications appear in standard criminal-law references and in the NYPD's administrative decision. The state code and coded-law listings are compiled in the DCJS manual.
What to watch
All eyes now turn to June 8, 2026, when the sentencing will determine Acosta's punishment. Beyond the numbers, the case has reopened debate in the Bronx over how police testimony is recorded, challenged and reviewed when civil suits and criminal prosecutions overlap. Local observers will be watching to see whether the Bronx district attorney treats the sentence as a broader statement on how future officer-involved shootings and related accountability reviews will be handled.
