The Davy V. Blog: Pregnant Mother Says Greece, NY Cop Brandon Goater Beat Her and Her Family, Then Illegally Confiscated Their Cell Phones after She Video Recorded Him (UPDATED)

Greece, NY Police officer Brandon Goater

By Davy V.

In May of 2013, Greece, NY Police officer Brandon Goater, pepper sprayed a 14-year old student, handcuffed him, and then punched him in the face.

Outraged at their son being abused by a police officer, the boy's parents demanded that then Greece Police Chief Todd Baxter, take action, but as usually happens in cases where police officers abuse innocent citizens, Baxter swept everything under the rug, and it all went away.

Just like that.

Fast forward to Wednesday January 27, 2016.

Yolanda Baker Bray was out of town with her husband, Chris, and their 18-year old son Roberto, when hers son's Time Warner home security system sent him an alert.

Roberti called a friend back in Greece, NY, and asked him if he could drive to his home and make sure everything was ok.

But as soon as his friend arrived at the Byscayne Drive home, he encountered several Greece, NY Police officers already there.

Inside the home.

Officers then told the friend that they were not leaving.

According to Baker Bray, when the officers entered the home, they found a few marijuana blunt roaches, as well as bongs.

And Baker Bray says that at seeing this, Greece Police officers asked a judge for a warrant to search the home.

Baker Bray says that the warrant was signed by a judge and time stamped.

The time stamp is marked as 10:54 a.m.

(SEE PHOTO BELOW)

But Greece, NY cops entered and searched the home at 6:00 a.m, almost 5 hours before obtaining the warrant.

Which means one thing.

Greece, NY Police officers illegally searched the home, and went through Roberto's personal belongings, before obtaining a search warrant to cover their asses.

But that's not the most disturbing part.

Yolanda Baker Bray, her husband, and her son arrived at the home at 11:25 a.m.

I spoke with Yolanda on the phone Thursday evening, and here's what she told me happened when they arrived at her son's home.

"We walked up to the door of the house, and were immediately stopped by plain clothes Greece Police officers," Yolanda said.

"I asked them what was going on and why were they in my son's house."

It was at this point that Yolanda decided to exercise her first amendment protected right to record, and began filming the exchange with her cell phone.

"I had my phone out recording the whole thing because at this point I believed something just wasn't right, I believed there was wrongdoing on behalf of the Greece Police Department."

Yolanda then asked the officers what was going on.

"I was told that it was an active investigation and that they had a search warrant," Baker Bray said.

"I asked them to see the warrant and I asked them what even gave them the grounds to get a search warrant, when they were originally called to the home for a security alarm," Baker Bray told me.

Yolanda also questioned how was it that officers had already searched her son's home, hours before the warrant was even issued.

"At this time one of the detectives noticed I was video recording and he came charging at me," Baker Bray said.

That Greece, NY Police officer was Brandon Goater, who also works undercover for the Greater Rochester Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, or "GRANET."

"He was yelling at me to give him my phone," Baker Bray told me.

"My husband then grabbed the phone out of my hand to continue recording, and that's when a group of about ten officers attacked us, knocking us to the ground."

"And that's when Greece Police Detective Brandon Goater kneed me in my stomach then cocked back and punched me in the face," Baker Bray said.

It's important to note that Yolanda Baker Bray is pregnant.

Baker Bray told me that as Greece Police Detective Brandon Goater was beating her, the other officers were beating her husband and her son.

"We were handcuffed and put into police cars and an ambulance was called because I'm 11 weeks pregnant," Yolanda said.

As for her and her hudband's cell phones, Yolanda Baker Bray told me that Greece Police officers confiscated them, and are refusing to return them.

"They told us that they need to review the videos that we recorded and that the phones are evidence."

Yolanda, who told me she experienced abdominal pain after being kneed by Greece Police Detective Brandon Goater, was treated for facial trauma and contusion from being punched in the face by Goater.

Her husband and son were treated for injuries including cuts and abrasions.

"I still can't believe this officer hit me, despite myself, my husband and my son continuously telling him I'm pregnant," Baker Bray told me.

The family was taken to Greece Town Court where they were arraigned on resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration, or "O.G.A." charges.

Roberto was charged with marijuana possession and paraphernalia.

The family was taken to the Monroe County Jail in downtown Rochester, NY where they were processed and held until almost midnight, before they were permitted to post bail."

UPDATE:

What do you do when you're a police department with a long history of abuse and corruption, and one of your officers beats a pregnant woman and her family and take their cell phones away from them after they recurred you?

You call in a favor by reaching out to your local mainstream news media outlets, the same ones who you regularly feed tips, leads and info. to, so they can do their jobs, and you ask them to help you justify your corrupt, rogue, Gestapo-like behavior, by spinning things in your favor.

That's exactly what the Greece, NY Police Department did.

And boy did Rochester's mainstream news media oblige!

And spin!

They were sure to mention that marijuana was found inside the residence, along with "guns".

Failing to mention that at least one of those "guns" was a legally purchased shotgun, which is legal to have in your home.

And also not surprising was the complete omission of any mention of Greece, NY Police officers beating the family, including Greece Police officer Brandon Goater, who beat a pregnant Yolanda Baker Bray.

Greece Police also lied by claiming that Yolanda Baker Bray's son called police.

And of course, Rochester's mainstream news media also failed to make any mention of how Greece Police illegally confiscated the family's cell phones and as a result violated their constitutionally protected first amendment right to record.

GREECE, NY POLICE CHIEF PATRICK PHELAN

(585) 865-9200

Yolanda Baker Bray's injuries to her face after being punched by Greece, NY Police Detective Brandon Goater