NYPD officer among 4 charged in attack

An off-duty New York City police officer and three other men are accused of beating a man in an attack in which racial epithets were hurled at the victim.

Juan Nunez, of Freeport, and the other three are accused of attacking a 52-year-old black man with a bat, fists and feet outside a deli in Roosevelt on Long Island Sunday morning. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening head injuries.

Police say that while epithets were used, they do not believe the incident meets the legal definition of a hate crime. An investigation is continuing.

Nunez pleaded not guilty to assault Monday in First District Court in Hempstead. He has been suspended from the NYPD. His attorney declined comment.