A Brooklyn judge is weighing whether a 300-pound New York City firefighter is a racist brute or merely a bully.
Luke Schreiner, 50, is charged with a hate crime attack on black postal worker Rene Isidore. In Gerritsen Beach last November, he allegedly berated the victim with a torrent of racial epithets, slapped him in the face and snapped his sunglasses in half.
Schreiner, who strongly resembles bald boxer Butterbean, could face up to four years in prison if he’s convicted by Judge John Ingram, who is presiding over a nonjury trial.
Isidore, a mild-mannered mail carrier, broke down in tears and needed a brief recess to compose himself as he began to describe how the Nov. 13, 2013, incident allegedly began over nothing.
Defense lawyer Robert Gallo argued that the incident was road rage, not racism.
News article from November 2013
“You want to get smacked today?” Luke Schreiner, 49, allegedly asked the victim during the Wednesday morning confrontation near Schreiner’s home in Gerritsen Beach. “You are a f—–g n—-r.”
Schreiner then smacked the mailman in the face and later was charged with criminal mischief, attempted assault and menacing charges, all as a hate crime. The 17-year FDNY veteran, assigned to Engine 329, has been suspended.
Schreiner has two previous assault arrests, including a 2005 road rage incident where he allegedly punched a motorist in the face.
HEY BUTTERBALL!!!!
You’re a disgrace to anyone who is, or anyone who knows a Fire Fighter.
You’ll be seeing your share of “Hoses” in JAIL!!!