NEW YORK — Torture victim Abner Louima criticized a decision to free a former police officer on $1 million bail while he awaits a new trial in one of the nation's most notorious police brutality cases.
Charles Schwarz's conviction in the Louima case was thrown out last week and he was released Thursday after serving nearly three years of a 15-year sentence. His retrial is set for June.
Louima, who was sodomized with a broken broomstick in a Brooklyn police station bathroom in 1997, pledged to "fully cooperate" with prosecutors seeking another conviction in the case.
"I had hoped, after all these years, I would be able to go on with my life," Louima said from Miami at a news conference before Schwarz's bail hearing. "Unfortunately, that is not the case."
Prosecutors tried to have Schwarz placed under house arrest, but U.S. District Judge Reena Raggi restricted Schwarz to New York City. The bail was secured with his mother's house.
"Today's a great day. I've been waiting for this day for 33 months," a smiling Schwarz said as he left the courthouse to applause from supporters and jeers from a smattering of protesters.
Schwarz was one of four white officers sentenced to prison in connection with the attack on Louima, who suffered severe internal injuries. Schwarz was accused of holding down Louima while officer Justin Volpe brutalized him.
Schwarz denied he was in the bathroom. But after Volpe pleaded guilty, a jury convicted Schwarz in 1999 of violating Louima's civil rights.
A federal appeals court ordered a new trial for Schwarz last week after it ruled that his lawyer had a conflict of interest and that the jury was tainted because it had found out about Volpe's secret plea.
The appeals court also threw out the obstruction-of-justice convictions of Schwarz and two other officers, Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese, who were accused of covering up the crime. Bruder and Wiese cannot be retried on the charges.
Volpe, who is serving a 30-year sentence, has said Schwarz was not in the bathroom.
The attack led to protests and heightened tensions between the Police Department and the black community.
Louima received an $8.7 million settlement from the city and police union.
"I thank my family, my friends and, of course, God for giving me the strength to fight for justice as long as it may take," Louima said.