Metro

Roosevelt Island security chief quits amid lawsuits alleging officer brutality

The security chief for Roosevelt Island has been forced out amid numerous brutality allegations against the island’s “peace” officers.

Keith Guerra, 48, the director of the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, quit Friday after residents had been calling for his ouster for months and complained of rough treatment at the hands of officers.

“Complaints were made, a review was conducted into his performance. There was a decision to terminate him, and he chose to resign,” a source told The Post.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp., the state entity that manages the island, said Guerra was leaving “to pursue another job opportunity.”

The operating corporation faces at least three lawsuits alleging mistreatment by the department, which has about 40 members who patrol the island but do not carry weapons.

Tensions rose after Anthony Jones, 20, claimed officers kicked him in the chest and broke his ribs during a January arrest.

“He almost died,” his lawyer, Michael Lamonsoff, told The Post.

Jones filed suit in April in Manhattan federal court, claiming he was handcuffed to a hospital bed for seven days and eventually released without being charged with a crime.

In another case, Florentina Ion said an officer “lunged around the counter and attacked” her when she and a companion, Valentin Pavlovici, went to the public-safety office to dispute a parking ticket on April 26, 2011, according to legal papers.

Guerra did not return calls seeking comment.