'Jump Around' Rapper, Cop Pal Beat Up BK Man: Lawsuit

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A House of Pain rapper and his NYPD lieutenant friend hit a Brooklyn man with a car before beating him up and arresting him, a lawsuit claims.

Steven Cooper was standing near an exit for the Williamsburg Bridge in 2016 when Lt. Thomas Jacobs, who was riding around with "Jump Around" rapper Daniel "Danny Boy" O'Connor and at least three other cops, rolled through a stop sign and hit him with his car, the lawsuit claims. It doesn't state if the cops were off duty.

The singer and Jacobs got out of the car and started beating up Cooper even as he called 911 for help. Then the police officers who showed up arrested Cooper and kept him, bleeding and bruised, at the 90th Precinct station for hours, the lawsuit claims.

"Cooper's rights were violated and he suffered physical harm, emotional distress and anguish, as well as financial damages," the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed in August, sues 17 officers, O'Connor and the City of New York for violating Cooper's constitutional rights.

It claims Jacobs, who works with the 114th Precinct in Queens, and the Williamsburg officers concocted a story that the lieutenant was trying to break up the fight between Cooper and O'Connor when Cooper punched him.

In reality, the lawsuit claims, Jacobs and O'Connor both beat up Cooper even as he tried to run away. Part of the fight was recorded in the 911 call, the lawsuit said.

"O’Connor struck Cooper on the head, choked him and grabbed and shoved him into the middle of the roadway," the lawsuit says.

"Within seconds, Jacobs joined O’Connor in assaulting and battering Cooper. Jacobs, who was carrying a concealed firearm, brushed up against Cooper, who felt the firearm, with the intent of putting Cooper in immediate fear of death or serious bodily injury."

Jacobs was injured during the altercation because he fell trying to bend down and pick up Cooper's hat, which had fallen off, the lawsuit says.

When two 90th Precinct officers showed up, the lieutenant showed his badge and told them that he was "on the job." One of the officers told Cooper to "shut the f--- up" when he tried to tell them what happened, the lawsuit said.

The officers brought Cooper to the 90th Precinct, where he sat for hours asking to see a doctor and to press charges. The squad told him that the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau would come interview him, but they never did, the lawsuit said.

Instead, he was charged with assault, fingerprinted and put in a cell. The assault charges against him were eventually dismissed.

O'Connor was also charged with assault but later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

The lawsuit claims that, along with emotional and financial strain, Cooper's right eye was badly hurt during the attack and that he had to get cataract extraction and glasses for the permanent damage.

The NYPD declined to comment on the pending litigation.