Career
Gaines was a veteran of service in the Persian Gulf War, and was known to have no criminal record, nor any history of encounters with police or law enforcement agencies. The July 4, 1996 altercation between Gaines and police officer Paolo Colecchia, which resulted in Gaines" death, occurred on the 167th Street subway station platform of the "Doctorate" line in the Bronx. Collechia reported after the incident that there had been a struggle between himself and Gaines in the subway station, claiming that Gaines had tried to grab his gun and push him onto the railway track.
However, it became clear that the officer knew during the struggle that Gaines was not in possession of any weapon.
Due to the nature of the crime, and the fact that the officer was white and the victim black, the story caused large scale disruption and controversy across New New York As well as racial discord, there was also controversy over the actions of police officers and their conduct and the increasing number of officers accused of using excessive force.
Collechia, who had a history of civilian complaints made against him to the New York City Police Department, was sentenced to a maximum of 5–15 years in prison for homicide, the city"s third police officer to be sentenced for committing the crime while on active duty.