> even rejected a plea offer that included no jail time.
of course he rejected a plea! just because there's no jail time doesn't mean his life wouldn't be ruined by a criminal conviction. getting a job as a felon in this country is nearly impossible.
18
This was harassment, pure and simple. They stopped them because the windows were blacked out and they didn't signal a turn? And then the poor guy spends 2 weeks in jail for a little bit of pot (even if it wasn't planted...who cares?)?
Imagine this happening to me....a white, middle-aged woman. Never. Not ever. And my windows are blacked out. And they might very well find pot in my car...if they bothered to search it. Which they wouldn't.
But young, black, and male? No justice.
25
If the driver was not DUI why even bother arresting? There should be no incentives in arresting without provable causes no matter how bad these guys are. If the camera is OFF then arrest should be automatically invalidated.
If you really want to go after potential drug dealers then just trace how the car was paid for.
7
@redpill The article never specified if the car was paid in full or if it was financed. It just stated that the young man had recently bought the car and it was used. I bought a used 2013 BMW last year at a local dealership. It was in pristine condition, fully loaded, one previous owner, clean title, clear vehicle history, sticker price under $16K. I gave $1500 cash and financed the rest. A used BMW that’s just a few years old is as affordable as almost any other used vehicle.
Also, many states take full and unfair advantage of Civil Asset Forfeiture laws. I don’t know if NY is a state that often abuses this law, but TX is. I’ve read many articles about how rampant the cops’ abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture has gotten all over the US for the past 20 years. Point is, if the cops were concerned about these guys’ possession of MJ, they probably would have investigated the car purchase for reasons you suggested. We don’t know they didn’t, but nothing in the article implied the car had been impounded or seized by cops under Asset Forfeiture laws. Who knows? That’s definitely an interesting angle. But as to what the incentive is for cops to arrest? Arrests are considered on performance reviews. The more arrests, the better they look, and it helps the dept’s overall crime solve rate.
I do agree with you that there was no cause to arrest this young man if they weren’t concerned about DUI. I also agree that arrests should be voided when body cams malfunction or are powered off.
6
If nothing else, this case is a good example of why the police have no business engaging in the social engineering that drives arrests for cannabis. It's all a numbers game and it's sure not justice for those who get picked on, who are overwhelmingly people of color. The fact is that you can pull any 10 motorists over and find evidence in probably half of them -- except white people are privileged to mostly avoid these sorts of disgraceful abuses of authority and the rights of citizens.
Clearly, the video is evidence that the roach wasn't in the car after the young men left it under police orders.
Less clearly, it doesn't show indisputable evidence of lawbreaking by Officer Erickson. But no one else was in the car but police after the young men were ordered out.
I can tell you from vast experience that cannabis itself does not remain burning for minutes after it ceases being actively smoked by a person inhaling it. Nope, it goes out within a few seconds.
If rolled into a blunt, made by excising the filler tobacco from a slim cigar and reusing the tobacco wrapper by filling it with cannabis, then it may remain lit briefly more time, but it will smolder to a stop in under a minute. Tobacco is usually treated to stay lit, but once it's just the shell around the weed filler it is ineffective in keeping things lit. As described during Erickson's fiddling with his camera, the period of time before his "discovery" is implausibly long. Case closed. Erickson is guilty.
14
@Mike Totally agree with everything you said. I’m white, and I also agree that white people are privileged to *mostly* avoid police abuses and rights violations; mostly, yes, but not always.
In 2017, I was arrested on drug possession charges and had NO drugs in my possession. From what I was able to gather from my useless public defender, the cops were doing a sting, and mistakenly pulled me over and demanded to search my car. I tried to refuse but they forced me out and searched anyway. They “found” drugs, arrested me and signed an affidavit that swore I was in possession of almost 4g of meth. My PD coerced me into a bad plea deal because he wasn’t interested in defending me or spending any more time than the minimum on my case. I ended up with 5 years probation, mandatory drug classes, random PO visits to my home, monthly visits to my horrible PO to check in, periodic re-evals with the drug abuse assessment dept, and an outrageous $$ amt of fines, admin fees, court costs and probation fees, including UAs and hair follicle tests I’m now required to give at random.
Cops lie and cheat all the time. The criminal justice system is massively broken.
16
What do I see? Corrupt cops. Plain and simple. No offense to all the good law enforcement officers out there, but if I ever wanted a body cam tape showing a faking and or planting of evidence, I'd nominate this one. I just wonder where the cop came up with his weed? Do they borrow baggies from the evidence room?
15
Quotas and pressure to make arrests turn good cops into dirty cops.
8
Former ADA in the best county in NYC here.
That collar is SHADY and that video should be mandatory viewing for every newly hired ADA in the City.
Can you imagine what was happening when there was no camera?
28
How could a lit joint have been missed on the first search? The smell and smoke would lead anyone to the evidence immediately. All these officers should be fired.
28
Police and prosecutors are very, very rarely held accountable for misconduct when they are obviously guilty of it. This has to stop.
Doctors will lose their license to practice. Lawyers are disbarred. Pilots are grounded.
Until the laws change, bad cops and bad prosecutors will continue the bad behavior and get away with it. There are a lot of good cops out there, and the bad ones taint their reputation.
24
That was pretty sketchy. It looks pretty suspicious. Pulled over for overly tinted windows (which is often not legal and often not enforced), then the snowball starts rolling. I ran around with some shady characters back in the day and they all drove stock Honda Civics or Toyota Carolas and always drove the speed limit. Didn’t dress flashy. They knew the cops were looking for anything to pull them over and pin something on them. This stuff, while not common, isn’t exactly rare either.
3
Of course the young man was set up. When one officer clears an area and a second one finds a roach later in the same area its a set up. Particularly so when the officer's camera is off. Some officers can't understand that the world of cameras puts some traditional police acts into cop history. The cop and several of his associates should face charges. The officer was dumb beyond belief by doing what he did after his partner cleared the area. As a defense attorney, I routinely asked for all of the officers' camera footage, their notes and any history of misconduct. Technology works for both sides.
16
A DNA test would either reveal the smoker of the joint or exculpate the driver.....………..and maybe inculpate the cop.
3
This is one of my biggest fears as a Black man in this country. If a cop plants something, I have no defense.
24
Disgusting. IAD should nail this dirty cop.
14
Once everyone was out of the car, it would seem that the police had no grounds to search it without a warrant.
The car could have been locked and secured, and they could have sought a warrant, but did not. Certainly once the four men were out of the car, they had no access to it and so the search exception that allows searches incident to a lawful arrest for the purpose of securing weapons that could be used against the police did not apply. And indeed, since they were not under arrest at that point, there was no right to search anyway.
It seems clear that these officers belong in jail. If I had been there, I would have called an NYPD Chief.
6
It sounds like you don't know about the automotive exception. There are many warrant exceptions beyond search incident to custodial arrest. Searching a lawfully stopped car without warrant is 100% allowed by current 4th amendment jurisprudence, like it or not. (I lean toward not. Our fourth amendment is Swiss cheese in the hands of the last century of cop-credulous judgments).
5
I do not think the person should have been pulled over to begin with. However we have serious allegations of what I consider the worst of crimes, police framing innocent people. It would seem it would be pretty easy to check if the blunt belonged to any of the four occupants of the car... Do a DNA test on the blunt. It should have traces of saliva on it if it looks like it was used.
If the results implicate planting of evidence, these two cops should be fired. No pension. Filing false police paperwork must be a felony off some kind. They should be pressured to provide evidence of misconduct of other officers, especially more senior ones. Maybe the feds should look into using RICO on the police.
Aww, while I am kidding, nothing is going to change!
12
Why is a police search of a vehicle being conducted on what police themselves say was a simple traffic stop? And a correctable violation at that. That’s illegal in California because a police officer does not have a right to play the lottery with someone’s life - without probable cause. There was no probable cause to search - oh except that they were black. The second the police started searching the car is when their behavior became extremely suspicious. It’s obvious they planted the marijuana.
7
I think they do have the right here in California. My understanding is that here, as in many states, if a police officer says that they smell marijuana that’s probable cause and they can search the car. Courts assume the honesty of the cop. Notice that an officer said that early on. It’s a pretty old trick. Another reason to legalize it. Bail reform too, as even though the case was dismissed the guy spent 2 weeks in jail.
7
@DSD, the probable cause here was the officers smelled pot, or otherwise discerned that the occupants had been smoking marijuana (not that clear from the article). The men in the car admitted they had done so. In California that would have been a legit reason to search a car before pot was legalized — to see whether there was any more “contraband” in the car. Now the police in California need other reasons — pot is not contraband — but even in Santa Cruz a cop can search a car without a warrant. Look it up.
Nobody disputes that the police have tough jobs and that they are under intense pressure to keep the precinct's arrest numbers high. But one officer finds a lit joint in plain view while his bodycam is switched off while the other officer who searched the same spot just before didn't see it nor did his bodycam pick it up? Is it that hard hard to notice a lit joint producing smoke when it's in plain view? That strains credibility. It sounds like the officers made a false arrest and perjured themselves. They may not even have had probable cause to make the stop. That's suspect since they apparently were willing to perjure themselves. This needs to be thoroughly investigated and if the officers did make a false arrest and perjure themselves they need to be fired and criminally charged.
17
Here's what I see: A bunch of commenters that have absolutely no idea how hard the police work to keep them safe. I wish you had to their job for a day. Just one day in the Bronx. Then you could deal with the suspects and the NYTimes commmenters afterwards. You'd make it to lunchtime. Maybe.
5
@Mark
Being a police officer is a choice. If they don't want to do the "hard work" they can pursue another occupation. You should try being a person of color in this country. You'd be whining by lunchtime. Being a police officer is a choice. Being a person of color-not so much.
57
@Mark - Yeah, because the need to find a roach is such a clear and present danger to us all. So much so that we should overlook the fact that they probably planted it.
It astounds me to see the degree to which people will defend the cops to the point that all misconduct and malfeasance is justified by their jobs being "hard" or "dangerous".
26
Oh please, relax. What you say is not the point. Most everyone would acknowledge that policing is a hard, thankless, and dangerous job. Independent of that, if they planted evidence it’s a crime. It doesn’t matter if they are police. They can break the law too. Most all police are good. Some aren’t. Just like any other profession out there.
16
Instead of entitling the story "Teenager Claims..." something, this headline should read, "Police Claims Questioned By Body Cam Video."
The headline itself is racist. This is about police malfeasance, not about teenage claims.
30
Erickson "planted" that joint in the kid's back seat, plain and simple. Pastran would have seen a burning cigarette on the seat or floor when closely inspecting that area. In order for Erickson to not have put it there, you'd have to believe that Pastran missed that burning marijuana cigarette (that would have been putting off a smoke cloud) when he did what looks like a very good job looking through the car. You'd also have to believe the Erickson body camera malfunction story 100%, and I'm not sure anyone can do that. (Police Departments have some real brains in the group that handles all of their equipment.) Miraculously, Erickson's body camera comes back to life completely fixed and fully operational and comes back to life just before he finds a lit joint from the back seat??? Me? I'm not buying it.
And it is too obvious when that Erickson tries to square his story with Pastran near the end of the video. Also, a burning marijuana cigarette will extinguish itself every time. How much time went by between the inspection by Pastran and the one done by Erickson? Erickson's record should be examined to see if there has been discrimination against black Americans, because that is what is at the heart of this so-called arrest.
27
When a police officer's body camera is off under suspicious circumstances like this, there should be some kind of investigation of the camera itself, to determine if, in fact, there was any "technical issue" that would have caused it to go off. And if there was such a technical issue, did it magically resolve itself? And if no such technical issue is found, it should be grounds for dismissal.
These cameras were required to be worn for a reason. There should be swift and severe consequences for trying to circumvent their purpose.
22
Why do those cameras even /have/ on-off switches???
24
Who cares about a little joint? It's not as though they had an ounce of weed. For what it's worth, plenty of Staten Islanders drive cars with tinted windows and the police don't care. But those are usually white kids......
14
Want to end the billions spent on illegal drugs? Want to end the violence that accompany illegal drugs? Then end the 21st C. version of the 20th C. Prohibition.
Then there is less money spent on warehousing people in prisons and jails and more money available for helping addicts stop using addictive drugs. Perhaps there will be more money and more energy put toward dealing with what pushes people toward addiction. Wouldn't that be amazing?
What is needed for this to happen? Devastation of the middle class comparable to the devastation against the "lessor" classes, i.e., cultures, environments and/or skin colors which are regarded as subhuman by the people who make the rules. Poor black, brown or white, poor in general, since to be poor is a sin in this nation.
But so long as drugs laws prop up the stock values of prison companies there is an economic incentive to maintain the status quo.
A culture of illegal drugs also helps maintain violent urban environments; they give violent gangs a reason to exist. Is it possible that middle and rich class people want to maintain cultures of violence and poverty? It sounds perverse but perhaps there are people who like the idea of violence and chaos - so long as the suffering is experienced only by "those people." It's a perverse way to organize society. Yet slavery was a way to organize society as well and many people who would never own slaves fought and died to maintain slavery.
5
Aside from the floor search mismatch, and the suspiciously switched-off camera, there are two things that jump out at me as simply not credible. In my experience being around plenty of pot smokers (I don’t partake myself), joints tossed aside do not stay lit for long. And if pot is burning you can’t miss smelling it. The cop had to have planted that thing.
Pot is now legal where I live, but even before it was legalized (first for medicinal use, then for anything) it was not a target for enforcement. However, the presence of marijuana was often used as a reason to search a home or vehicle, and that open door (a legal search) often led to confiscation of unregistered and illegal weapons (sawed-off shotguns used to come up a lot, now people arrested for narcotics often have semi-automatics and worse), other drugs in street-sale quantities (meth, heroin, pharmaceuticals), large amounts of cash, incendiary devices, and other miscellaneous and scary weaponry. Even though I was in favor of the legalization of pot, I was always glad to see those violent and dangerous people busted, no matter how the arrests came about. So I’m thinking maybe this cop had the same mindset. He knew the guys were in a violent gang, and the driver had a record. He wanted these guys off the street. Not saying that’s right, only that it’s a common motivation.
Have to say, though, that of these guys really are gang members, they are very cautious. All those guys and nothing to confiscate? No weapons?
8
So a teenagers spends two weeks in jail but there are no consequences for the improper policing. And the police wonder why they aren’t trusted.
31
What about DNA? If the police were being honest about finding a lit joint, there would have been DNA on it from the mouth of the smoker. Why was it not tested for DNA evidence after putting the defendant through 10 court appearances? Also, a small half of joint like that, why throw it in the back seat when it’s so easy to swallow? Police lied.
Jail for marijuana is a total waste of taxpayer money. For 30 years, possession of less than an ounce has been on Colorado traffic tickets with a $100 mailed in fine. Common sense.
17
@Patricia Geary -- You think the NYPD would go to the expense of a DNA test for a pot arrest? Think again.
2
When it’s easier to just incarcerate a young man for something that millions do in this city everyday.
2
@Mark
But is there a price for real justice? Is there a price to get a crooked cop off the beat? The evidence should still be in storage. Why not test it now to see if the officer is being honest?
1
Even if, and this seems unlikely, the find was real, it is absurd that people should ever be arrested for such a thing, unless driving ability were impaired. The drug laws are a patent affront to liberty and a mainstay in the persecution of racial minorities and poor people.
15
If the judge thought the cop had perjured himself, why did he not impose sanctions? Thirty days in jail, not separated from the rest of the prison population, would convince cops to stop testilying.
14
What I see is exactly what I predicted would be the result when police started wearing body cameras to "document" their behavior. Which is to say that those who expected that the matter of improper police behavior would now be resolved were going to be sadly disappointed. In life, as in sport, there will always be "judgement calls," and body cameras will simply "prove" whatever side of the argument their viewers want them to prove.
7
If the cops planted evidence that’s damning. But it is also absurd that cannabis is considered a criminal offense in the first place. How many more lives have to be destroyed before we finally end this charade?
The prohibition on cannabis was enacted for overtly racist reasons in the first place. It continues to be applied that way. A few years ago David Brooks wrote an op-ed about how he smoked pot in college and then moved along. It was perhaps his dumbest piece. Sure a white kid at the University of Chicago would move on with his life, no problem. A black kid in the hood would have ended up with a criminal record and zero prospects.
18
NYPD must investigate their officers.
Who would believe in police anymore when these footage arise and police don't even investigate.
Remember, police have the power only because we the people give them that power.
Anytime a body cam is turned off, an investigation must be automatically conducted. No Exceptions!
14
@BLOG joekimgroup.com -- No. The NYPD cannot be trusted to investigate its own officers. They need to be investigated by an independent agency that is in no way affiliated with the NYPD.
8
Anyone who has worked in law enforcement knows that some cops will definitely do what they think is needed - including planting a blunt - in order to take someone they believe is dangerous off the street. It's not right, or ethical and it is all too often and end-justifies-the-means attitude. The reality, this attitude hits minorities - especially young, black males, really hard and only solidifies their mistrust of the police. The police must do a better job of rooting out this behavior AND rebuilding trust with the communities they serve. We shouldn't hold our breath.
18
How about this is 2018- legalize cannabis already! What the...
10
I think there is a very simple way to determine who is telling the truth. If the blunt was smoked by one of the individuals in the car, it should have traces of their DNA on it. In addition, shouldn't the officers be wearing gloves while inspecting the car for evidence. This would allow a DNA test to determine if an of the officers DNA was on the evidence in question.
7
@Robert guess you missed the part about the LIT BLUNT NOT BEING THERE during the first search.
This is not a "he said-they said" situation. It's a "dirty cop tried to frame someone" situation.
9
It is plausible the lit or recently lit blunt was in the possession of someone in the car and after a search was done of the back an industrious individual in the car could have thrown it with some slight of hand so as to rid themselves of it - I would think an already searched area would be appropriate for that purpose. Remember, they did admit to smoking previously, we just don't know how long ago. Also, the article mentions that the individuals were suspected of being gang attached and these were persons of interest. Perhaps it's a matter of arresting someone who looks good for having done bad - but it doesn't justify framing anyone.
I am retired NYCPD......member of TPF,Street crime,detective night time task force,narcotics division all in the 60s and seventies. This is a no brainer. 4 young dudes in a Beamer,during the day,out smoking grass in the auto. Search the car find zip bye have a nice day. These cops have a lot to learn about life and crime. I mean a “roach”. This should have been a summons period. In real life you know what’s happening and give a warning and tell the Beamer owner we will be watching out for you and send him on his way. What do we have here. Probably a dealer out with friends. No weight found. See you next time. The cops had justification but there comes a time you gotta let go. I was always polite but they would know I had their number. As for weed crimes....driving under the influence would have been ok and again no weight bye bye.
21
@richard Doing fine with your post until the last sentence.
Wrong. Weed destroys reaction time, situational awareness. I indulge, but at home, after my day is done, and am in bed, ready for sleep.
I've been a passenger in a car driven by somebody high twice, scared the H outa me. (I am not fearful of auto transportation; I have a box of trophies from my SCCA racing days.) In one case, he realized the exit was coming up and suddenly cut across three lanes in heavy traffic to make it. I heard the screeching of the tires of others as they slammed on their brakes. In the second, he made a right turn on red after looking left, failing to notice the pedestrian's stepping off the curb in front of him.
I'd make a jail sentence for anyone driving high mandatory. Trouble is, as yet there is no good field test for blood THC level.
5
I think his point was they should have arrested the driver for driving under the influence
2
The video was furnished by the defendants' attorneys who are trying to show misconduct so help their clients. It is narrated by a person who is interpreting what is displayed as suspicious. The driver is resisting being searched and accusing police of planting evidence before the police have produced any. The glare from sun light prevents seeing the carpet behind the driver's seat but the video clearly shows the carpet behind the passenger's seat. Without the comments from the driver and the narrator, it all becomes too unclear to determine what exactly happened.
The video is inconclusive with respect to the key issues.
5
@Casual Observer it did not help that the police decided to turn off their camera for a good 4 minutes. I am quite suspicious of the police officer in this video.
14
@Casual Observer:
Is that really all you got from the article?
5
It was clear enough for the judge to reprimand the officer and advise him to retain an attorney. Remove your blue colored glasses.
19
Two weeks in jail. What if you're a student? You fail out of school. What if you have a job? You get fired. What if you're a single parent? Your kids are alone. What if you spend two weeks in jail? Then you have a record. Two weeks in jail.
44
@Chloe Thank you for highlighting this piece in the story, which has been overlooked. Regardless of what did or didn't happen in the back of the car, bail is supposed to be about reappearance in court. Instead, it is about entrenching people of color and the poor in a system of social control that pays no mind to individual liberties, nor to rational social goals.
4
I see criminal behavior on the part of the police. There's plenty of real crime to be chasing. Racist.
24
I'm sure that in New York, there's nothing suspicious about 4 teenagers riding around town in a $40,000 vehicle with blacked-out windows. Perhaps they were on their way to a book club meeting.
9
@Pete That is racial profiling based off of a white normative of societal standards. I am sure these is nothing suspicious about cops planting drugs on young black men because we assume they were probably doing it anyway, or may be we assume that because cops keep planting drugs on them and are more likely to arrest black men then their white counter parts who are also smoking weed, taking acid, shrooms, etc.
21
@Pete And what if they were going to a book club or some kind of harmless activity? Are you saying its okay to profile them and pull them over because they're black?
18
@Pete The issue is not the $40,000 car. I would allow my black teenage son to drive my car which costs more than $40,000. The issue is does my son deserve 2 week in jail for nothing but pure racism and oppression by the police and this society. This video/article makes me angry but your sarcasm and belittling of us makes it worse. I understand you have never walked in our shoes.
59
If the police cared about the colored community in general they will out this guy as a bad apple, his partner also. If they cared about improving their reputation, they would arrest these officers with obstruction. But the nypd does not care about the color community. They would try to sweep this under the rug
7
If the joint was lit and sitting on the floorboard, it would have been smoking up the car. There was no smoke.
Also, what were those little baggies the officer was fiddling with?
Seems clear that the officer was bent on getting an arrest out of the stop and would do anything to make it happen.
That roach was tiny--making arrests over it seems like a colossal waste of time, esp in a town where there are clearly more important matters calling for police attention. And the dude spent 2 weeks in jail over it. Add colossal waste of taxpayer money on top.
C'mon cops--do the job we pay you for and stop wasting time and money on fabricated charges just to make a quota.
25
The question is, how is the officer going to light up the joint when there are four people and his partner hanging around?
Lighting a joint isn't something that you can do silently...or quickly.
In addition, there should be a burn mark on the floor mat.
That said, it's possible one of the passengers spat the joint out after it got too hot to hold in their mouth. Yeah, that's something that you can do for a while.
What is the truth? The truth is that a break in the chain of evidence will always taint an investigation.
1
The worst is that the police shield these officers.
Saying there are just a few 'bad apples' and that it doesn't represent the majority of policemen isn't a comfort nor is it right.
10
Testilying.
Surprised they didn't plant a weapon.
18
The most discouraging aspect of this incident is that it suggests that this isn’t “a few bad apples” situation. They played on queue. It was a well-executed, delicate dance — they’ve done it before. How many innocent young men get saddled with job killing records so that some department can flout its collars in a report? Disgraceful. For shame.
16
@Paul O'Donnell -- As I've always said of the "few bad apples" argument, those who cite it nearly always forget the second half of the aphorism. The complete aphorism states, "A few bad apples spoil the bushel."
6
2 weeks in Jail for what? Officer should be fired for planting evidence and perjuring himself.
14
@Harris Silver The General Population in prison should enjoy his tales of woe...
2
So many people in the comments here are outraged at the police over this incident. Folks, this is nothing.
If you want serious outrage, go to YouTube and look for "police brutality" or "police abuse" of "police planting evidence." What you will find are hundreds, if not thousands, of videos that clearly show police behaving badly. From all over the nation. And these are only some of the ones caught on video AND posted -- most likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Start with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Yg6fWxdLE to see just how corrupt that Thin Blue Line has become.
9
For those of us that are black in this society watching this video and reading this article is heartbreaking since those four men are our brothers, husbands and fathers that society continues to beat up....white society wonders why we never trust them!
13
Why wouldn’t the NYTimes reporter get the complete Internal Affairs case file? It might shed some light on the allegations.
1
@James Good question ... unfortunately internal affairs reports are not considered to be "public records." There needs to be a change in the law to rectify that.
4
Wow...not true in my state. “Liberal” New York is one of the most conservative on law/order, open records, prison rights, etc.
2
According to the video timestamps - the officer initially asks for the driver's license at 12:20pm.
At 12:30pm the officer claims he found a lit blunt.
What sir? Please show me a blunt that continuously burns for 10 whole minutes. I'll wait.
36
totally agree, joints go out in less than a minute
4
This doesn't make much sense. Any experienced doper would just swallow a roach that size, lit or not. Moisture in the moth extinguishes it immediately. Once swallowed, it's gone. It looks like a frame to me. No one throws a roach on the floor.
18
exactly!
2
Bodycams protect the police officers as much if not more so than the people they arrest. If a cop turns off his bodycam, his actions must be called into question. We cannot reward cops who turn their cams off. Were a perp to claim that he was framed while the cam was off, the burden of proof must be on the cop to show why it did not happen.
10
This is what happens when we give C-students a badge. Your average copper is a C student with good intent. Those who make it through Det., Lt., and Capt. exams are the "thinking brains," so advance. The sheriff and state trooper levels are the B and A students that also may have military officer training.
I don't trust local coppers to make very good decisions unless they are in a white shirt and have a bar on their collar. Period.
9
This really angers me! Once again we see crooked, entitled cops tearing down black men.
I hope these cops lost their jobs and spent some time in jail.
8
It appears NYPD is just between scandals.
In this world, putting someone in Jail over a roach is as lame and cheap as busting a jaywalker.
2 weeks in jail is no small deal. Easy to do if you did something, hard to do when you didn't.
About making enough arrests. I'd think the ones that don't stick or are frivolous make you look weak and petty. Seems quality arrest and quality convictions should make you a good name as a cop. Bust bad guys by catching them do bad stuff.
What happened to the turn signal violation? What happened to the gang member accusation? The cop acts like a judge with no law degree and a one man jury.
If a cop follows any of us around long enough there going to find something to pull us over for. What this guy was really guilty of was driving while black. This stuff goes to the the heart of why there are so many black men in jail.
12
It seems like the root of the problem is that "the officers are under pressure to make arrests." They should be keeping the peace. Even if you don't think that the officer planted the marijuana, which seems like a stretch, they've got 5 officers standing around just to keep some young men from smoking marijuana. Seems like a serious waste of resources.
12
Either Elmer Pastran is incompetent to search a vehicle and find a burning object in plan sight. He is then a danger to other officers because next he may miss a gun. He should be fired immediately.
The other possibilitie is Kyle Erickson purjures himself and is willing to force an innocent man into the justice system. He should be fired and tried for purjury, and civil rights violations.
7
@bastardusmarkus did you not read the article ??
Erickson was advised by the judge that if his testimony was to continue he would need a lawyer to avoid criminal charges. At that point the prosecutor immediately dropped all charges.
7
Stuff like this incident shows why when it comes to the Police, for minorities, especially Hispanics and African Americans, it pays to not trust the Police.
And I doubt that the Officers responsible for this "arrest" will ever get convicted, much less lose their jobs.
6
The joint doesn't show up repeatedly at first then shows up later after the camera was turned off for some unknown reason.
You'd have to be a fool not to think it was planted by the cops.
12
It's mighty suspicious that after one officer clears the back seat (and we can see that there is nothing on the carpet) the other's camera is turned off and then he finds something there just after he turns his camera back on. that's WAY too coincidental. Couple that with the fact that it's supposedly still lit! It's not going to stay lit like that for 4 minutes and if it were lit it would have likely melted or smoldered the carpet that it was "found" on. I smell a rat.
8
"What do we know about the individuals in this case?"
We know it's NYPD and a black man. That's about all we need to know to know that he was probably framed. And obviously the judge knew something, too.
Sidenote: it's embarrassing that in 2017/2018 any of this is still happening. Enough with illegal marijuana already.
4
Guilty of DWB, Driving While Black.
3
The bigger story is the lack of consequences for corrupt police officers. Consider that Eric Garner's killer is still on desk duty some 4+ years later for choke-holding a black man for selling cigarettes inconveniently near an upscale housing development. All of this is depressingly repetitive. Why isn't Mayor Di Blasio and his wife leading the charge? Their son could be next...
10
Since the story of Officer Erickson will remain legally inconclusive (it sure doesn't look good, though...), I'd like to point out something else people need to remember:
Don't smoke weed (its still, stupidly, illegal), but definitely don't smoke it in cars!
Seriously, you'd think kids would have figured this out by now. You can't have an open bottle of Captain rolling around and not be suspected of a DUI. What makes you think you smoke a blunt and have the cops ignore you?
It's going to be the same when when weed is finally legalized, by the way...
4
A decent amount of NYPD officers refer to the Jackie Robinson Parkway as “Heroin Highway,” and Rikers Island as “Gladiator School.”
A few bad apples cause the entire bunch to rot.
Dirty cops. There is zero excuse for these men. They shame the badge.
There is zero question that these cops determined that 4 black teens driving a late model BMW and known or believed to be gang members thought they had a no-brainer way of making their arrest quota.
There is zero question that at least one of these cops felt comfortable enough to turn off his body cam to allow him to plant the "evidence." That speaks volumes for the cop culture in his precinct.
The cops are dirty. All of them involved in this arrest. None of them should be a cop in this country.
8
The evidence-planting and subsequent lying are so transparent that a judge intervened to keep this venal police officer from perjuring himself! The many absurdities in his "report" include the idea that a blunt would smolder for 5-10 minutes on the floor of the car, yet go unnoticed during much of the search. And yet we read this: "An internal police investigation later found no evidence of misconduct."
This police officer not only planted evidence and lied on a report and in court, he behaved like a gestapo thug and robbed the man of freedom. Discipline? None, of course.
Police who wonder why they are so often held in low regard should take a hard look at "officer" Erickson and his ilk. The damage they do to their department far surpasses anything caused by others.
11
"At the judge’s direction, the district attorney’s office informed the Police Department that Officer Erickson might need a lawyer..."
At the judge's direction? Isn't the judge supposed to be unbiased, an impartial arbiter of justice?
Judge Robles saw that Erickson was probably committing perjury, stopped the trial, had an off-the-record sidebar (and probably saved Erickson from being fired, and possibly prosecuted). If the falsehood of the testimony was that egregious, should Robles not have plainly stated -- for the record -- that Erickson's testimony was a clear contradiction to the audio and video on Officer Pastran's body camera, and dismissed the case?
If not bias in favor of the police, then what led Robles to protect Erickson?
I don't know if this is a violation of any kind of ethics or code of conduct for a judge, but if it's not, it should be.
8
1) If the joint was burning at the time of the stop, it wouldn't have taken over 4 minutes to find it, because they would have clearly smelled it.
2) It is highly unlikely the joint would still be burning after 4 minutes.
Good on the judge for seeing through the charade.
13
I know from living in NYC for over 20 years almost all police in NYC are very good, especially the "protect and serve" part. I say this in comparison to police departments in several other cities I have lived in; some large, some smaller. I am also Caucasian, and we have seen and/or read enough to know this makes a big difference.enough I know it is very hard in the city (NYC) for police, in comparison to those other cities, especially in East New York, and some other areas. I lived there from 1988 to 2016, and the city evolves so very fast;primarily due to gentrification. This guy spent 2 weeks in Rikers (I assume). That is very bad. Worse, nothing was done to either officer, which really shows how sometimes, there is no justice at all, plus how thin the blue line is. Most of all, I am glad no one was shot.
11
@Easy Goer: I disagree, they're thugs, looking for ways to hassle the populace or worse, to justify their absurd pay and lifetime pension and benefits.
3
How does one plant a marijuana cigarette that is already lit, without being seen either holding it, or lighting it?
2
@Middleman MD
Video shows what appears to be ericson lighting it at 12:28:09. Pretty clearly a plant.
1
The officer said it was lit, bit I don't think we have other evidence that it was lit.
3
Because it wasn't lit duh it's called lying police do it ALL the time. Why wld you leave it lit to destroy your car's upholstery? Even if you were smoking it you would put it out first then toss it under the seat.
4
I don’t think I’d blame this on quotas.
It’s difficult to discern this officers motives from the video, but in my experience, cops only care about one thing, and that’s “getting the perp,” and don’t mind lying to do it.
Of course, this is only from my limited experience, but I have personally witnessed some /very/ bad (read: criminal) police behavior from two different precincts, and spoken with a defendant about questionable interrogation tactics in a third. I have spoken with a surgeon who claims they were asked by an officer to commit medical malpractice, by allowing an alleged cop killer to die, in a fourth.
I have also sat on a jury which failed to convict precisely because some jurors did not find an officer’s testimony credible. With events like the one in this article, who can blame them? More importantly, with swift internal reviews so frequently clearing officers of wrongdoing, who can blame them? I recognize the drive to close rank and protect those serving justice from the slander they receive on a daily basis from desperate criminals. But the total lack of accountability is eroding the people’s faith in their public servants, and that’s making it harder to get convictions, even by the book.
I recognize behavior varies from precinct to precinct, but this video (which certainly looks like evidence planting to me) lines right up with my experiences elsewhere. And I promise, I’m not a criminal. I wish I could give more details, but I do not want to be identified.
12
This type of nonsense by police goes on every single day,day after day after day across this country. This has to stop NOW.Marijuana should be made legal in every state that hasn't done so.Police then can get back to the business of real policing instead of constantly harassing youth and especially young men of color every single day and night.Shameful is what it is.
13
What is wrong with New York? Legalize marijuana already. Are they waiting for Alabama to do it first or something?
16
A lit joint smolders.
9
and after at least 7 minutes, would have burned a hole in or singed the carpet, I would think.
2
A lit joint will burn through the floor mat just like a cigarette would. Also, a roach will certainly not burn for 3.5 minutes. This officer is lying and simple physics can prove it.
1
Bingo. This cop is lying and it can be proved.
The judge did the public a huge disservice in this case. He protected the officer even after suspecting the officer was committing perjury. The judge may have in fact obstructed justice and should be investigated.
1
I for one know no Officer that would risk a career and criminal chargers just to make a case for a minor marijuana possession.
17
Remember, he thought he had 4 busts, and he didn’t like them.
11
@Art You are kidding right? I know there are arrest "goals", and minorities usually fill them. The more minorities have records, the harder for them to find jobs, they end up in jail or prison and the goal is to become permanent residents of the system. Real son, pay attention in this life. Thank you.
32
Well, now you might know two. That's a start.
34
If you don’t believe many cops are criminals go to New Orleans.
In the Big Sleazy prosecutors and judges are too.
5
Officer: "We have to find something? Know what I mean."
[Body cam then has a four-minute "technical issue"]
Yeah, I know what you mean...
22
I'm a white guy.
I was driving in my car one day a long time ago in college, stoned. I'd just smoked marijuana a few minutes before in my car in a parking lot so surely it smelled strong. I forgot to turn on my headlights and didn't notice because I was driving on very well lit urban streets. I got pulled over. I explained to the cop that I'd simply not noticed because of the well lit streets. He sent me on my way, but not before saying, "Next time get some Visine."
148
@George, I’d completely forgotten about Visine. Those were the good old days.
2
The officer should be fired. And prosecuted for lying.
And spend two weeks in jail, like the victim, before posting bail as the victim had to do.
Bad cops will do this over and over again until they get caught and stopped.
Race underlies this. Who is going to believe young black men over a cop?
I come from a family of cops (both my brothers were cops elsewhere). They weren't perfect either. And they were black cops. And as a (successful, older) black male, I recently endured a cop lying on me right here in Manhattan, accusing me falsely by saying he saw something he and his partner actually admitted that they didn't see.
We should never find this acceptable under any circumstances. Fire him.
296
@Marc
When lower level criminals are arrested cops "flip" them to get them to testify against their higher ups.
When we go after bad cops, we need to flip them to find out which brass and what policies encouraged them to break the law.
It is not enough to punish bad cops. We must reform a broken system.
29
@Marc I agree that the officers should be made to go through the same mistreatment as did the innocent young man who was subjected to these false accusations. However, I'm not entirely sure it's a matter of race as much as it is a simple abuse of power which corrupts those that are unfit to wield it. Moreover, while we need the police to maintain law and order and fight REAL criminal activities, there has always existed the presumption on the part of the police that they are not subjected to the same type of oversight that other government officials are. The fact is that their power comes FROM the public but if we don't hold our elected officials accountable for the conduct of those that serve the public then we have only ourselves to blame. In the case of DeBlasio, he has failed to maintain his authority over the police and it seems to me that in too many cases the police operate without feeling any constraint on their authority. Too many good officers are tarnished by the cultural behavior of officers, especially those that come from "police families" where, in my view, a feeling of "invincibility" develops more often than one of "service TO and FOR the public".
7
I agree. But making but conclusions based solely upon suspicions is unreasonable.
3
I am among the growing number of young people who are skeptical of American police, and this article perfectly represents the reason behind our skepticism. We are not skeptical because there might be one or two cops who kill for fun, or plant drugs. We are skeptical because of the apparent lack of accountability for such crooked cops.
This article devotes just two sentences to the eventual investigation to the officer's alleged "misconduct". "Prosecutors encouraged the officer to get a lawyer. An internal police investigation later found no evidence of misconduct." And yet these two sentences really should take up an article of their own. I'd like that article to describe the views of the independent prosecutor who's job it was to convict the crooked cop. I'd like it to describe the hundreds of law abiding officers who petitioned to have this fraudulent officer fired and prosecuted. I'd like it to describe how the manufacturer of the body cam had to testify on the amount of force required to flip the switch. I'd like it to describe the jury selection for the prosecution against the officer. I'd like it to describe how the city chose to phase out the use of defective body cams (any body cam with an off switch is defective).
But the article does none of these things, and I'm left to believe that there is no accountability.
354
@Timothy Hobbs I want to find out if Mr. Kuyateh was tested for DUI. The cops smelled pot and the occupants admitted to smoking it.
I fully support legal pot but DUI is another matter entirely.
6
@Timothy Hobbs
You believe that the facts are known with certainty, so therefore, the prosecutors are hiding police misconduct, and so there is no accountability for bad cops. If you believed that there is enough uncertainty to make prosecuting a mistake, they you would have no certainty regarding any of it.
NYT, is the suggested follow-up article going to be written? it is indeed just as, if not more, important.
12
This is exactly what happened to me, except the police were not as kind, nor respectful. Over a tiny amount of cannabis? About .1 of a gram. They sent me to the tombs. Then to Rikers. Then to night court without even a phone call. The judge chewed me out. Mr. Bobrow she said, aren’t you a little old to be smoking Maryjuana? They threw me in a holding pen with some really bad people. Murderers. Rapists. Dangerous folks. Over what? A tiny piece of a joint? There is a real problem in nyc. The police are bored and they are held accountable for their arrest numbers. Going after pot smokers? Get a real life. Find some real crime. Don’t ruin lives over a tiny bit of cannabis. We all know the cops smoke too.
318
@malcolmHow long do drugs, especially marijuana, stay in one's system. And if it's legal to smoke in one state, why isn't it legal in another. Is it more intoxicating in New York than a state where it's legal? I don't get it.
5
@Warren Bobrow
No, this is not exactly what happened to you. In the case described in the article, the police planted evidence in the suspect’s car. This is a huge violation of the public trust. Ugly things happen when the police feel free to fabricate evidence.
If I understood your post properly, you actually had marijuana in your car, if only a tiny amount. I agree that the war on drugs is both counterproductive and brutally absurd, and I’m sorry for what you went through.
But your experience is different in degree and in kind. It is emphatically not the same thing at all. Yours revolves around zealous enforcement of bad laws, while this is undiluted police corruption.
9
@Robert Haufrecht Unbellievable to a resident of California, where it is legal. What a travesty.
1
Anyone who's ever been near a "marijuana cigarette" knows that they don't stay lit for four minutes. You have to keep relighting them because marijuana doesn't have the ingredients put in cigarettes that help them stay lit forever. A joint will stay lit for maybe 10 seconds if you take a big drag. You'd thinks cops would want to know something about the evidence they're planting.
265
Great point. It’s been decades since I last smoked a joint but I do remember that they go out fast.
24
Agree
I was framed at a bridge entering the US from Canada. Being white, and well off, I got off!
8
and no mention of, and no video of, the surely-burned carpet.
9
With pressure from NYPD to make arrests to meet quotas, how many police end up short at the end of the month? Is this what happens? And to how many more people?
Obviously arrest quotas are dangerous to the liberty of the people. You can discern job performance without pushing cops to arrest more people than are necessarily guilty of something.
3
@leftcoast - Well, the incident occurred on Feb 28, coincidence?
Of course, every police department always denies they ever have quotas, even for traffic offenses. So clearly, that must be true. (cough)
3
So the young men were stopped for turning without a signal and "excessively tinted" windows. If I had only a nickel for every car I see turning without signaling, or worse, turning left when the right hand side blinker is flashing (and vice versa), I would be a gazillionaire. As for excessively tinted windows, I am reminded of the police stop of the State Attorney where Florida's finest asserted her windows were overly tinted but they didn't have their tint measure on them. The video is on youtube.
I am glad this charge was aggressively challenged but the young man still spent two weeks in jail needlessly and what about the other black and Hispanic people with similar bogus charges that are not analyzed in the NY Times? And the police wonder why they receive so little respect from the public.
9
Gov. Andrew Cuomo prevented us from legalizing marijuana.
Your best way to prevent this kind of false arrest is to vote against Cuomo in the primaries.
Cynthia Nixon wasn't perfect, but when a pro-legalization candidate wins 1/3 of the primary vote, that sends Cuomo a warning.
And long shot though it may be, I would rather have Nixon in office than suffer police abuses like this.
A well-organized pro-legalization campaign would be running primary candidates against every legislator who opposes legalization.
1
@Norman you do know that Nixon lost and Cuomo has been reelected. Right?!
1
Why was the driver not tested, and if found to be intoxicated, arrested for DWI or DUI ??
"some of the young men in the car had been smoking marijuana, which they admitted during the stop. But the young men told the officers they had just finished smoking"
A DWI and/or DUI is the obvious danger to the public.
2
I applaud and encourage pieces like this. The police and prosecutors in this country (and probably all others) are motivated to lie and mistreat citizens.
1
If body cams can be turned off and on arbitrarily then it defeats the purpose! There should be dire consequences for turning off body cams
15
This is an outrage.
Why wasn’t Erickson sitting in jail for 2 weeks while the courts processed the paperwork? The evidence by these videos is far stronger to suggest that he is the one who committed a crime (and a much more egregious one than Marijuana possession)
This was such a shoddy job of planting evidence too. Claiming that he found a LIT joint in plain view that his partner didn’t discover during a thorough search? Turning the body camera on just seconds before he discovered this joint?
Just imagine how many more cops there are out there with just a small shred of common sense who are doing things like this in a way that doesn’t leave such a clear evidence trail.
6
PRESCRIPT: This comment repeats one I submitted this morning, with one edit.The word now shown in brackets, in line 2 of the first sentence, is 'the change' -- offered in hope that the comment might now be approved. (Can you guess what the bracketed word 'was' in the not-approved 'prelim'?)
-------------------
Here's what I 'see': One 'bad' cop and one who didn't have the [nerve] to challenge him.
P.S. In a moving vehicle with 2 friends ... It's 1967 … before SCOTUS 'said' the Five O needed probable cause to search a vehicle after a 'traffic stop' … We're stopped on Utica, near Flatbush Av (Bklyn … in da house!!!) because Marc forgot to put his headlights on ... The policemen immediately begin a search that uncovers 8 'joints' under the front seat of Marc's father's '58 Olds or Buick (age, not pot, fogs my memory) ... An arrest is made ... Parents are called. (Arguably, we'd have preferred Miranda warnings, but Miranda v. Arizona hadn't yet 'happened.') … Release follows … Arrests never booked. After all ….
WE WERE DRIVING WHILE 'WHITE.' (1967, 2018 … Same as it ever was.)
2
While police conduct appears to be egregious in this case, the law is also problematic. Even without planting the evidence, no one with a single, tiny joint in their car should be arrested in the United States in 2018. Period.
20
@Froat Unless, of course, they are smoking it while driving.
A very confusing video and narrative. Can’t see a plant, but What are we supposed to make of this?
Why were they pulled over in the first place? Arrested for a tiny tiny amount of pot— really?
Seems the police resources in this case were misplaced to say the least.
4
Wait, someone went to jail for half of a joint? Seriously? For two weeks?
It seems like many of these questionable incidents also contain body cameras being shut off, then on again. Why has that obvious loophole not been shut off as well? Are we granting final cut to officers on the scene? Are they getting an editing credit on the video?
So the cops could not find anything, but say on camera they need to find something, "know what I mean"? That apparently is standard operating procedure and passes muster?
I think the true litmus test of the NYPD, is that they saw the same thing we did and said, everything was okay. Undoubtedly the case will reopen only due to this NYT story. I don't think anything really changes in respect to police culture, only things that are videotaped, and then only if the videotape makes the news. Otherwise it is apparently business as usual.
5
Obviously, it is unclear enough that the kid shouldn’t be prosecuted. And, why would he have thrown a marijuana cigarette into his backseat? It makes no sense. And why was he pulled over?
3
Do police break the law? My uncle was a Philadelphia parole officer. Near the end of his life he told me that his job was to visit, with his partner, all of his parolees on a regular basis and beat them up. Every one. Every visit. That was his JOB as assigned by his supervisors. No paroles ever complained. Well, that was in the days before video cameras, so I guess it's more difficult to get away with this sort on nonsense today. The other reason he was untouchable was that police kept evidence in safe deposit boxes all over the city with documents incriminating every judge and DA in the city because they were all 'dirty'.
4
This makes the case for body cams that can't be turned off until it's taken off at the station. This evidence will send these cops to prison. I hope other cops will learn from this criminal example of corruption and injustice. No one is above the law. Even cops.
4
It seems the only crime is that officer Ericsson and his superiors are the only criminals here. Ericsson for planting the marijuana and his superiors for allowing the coverup. Meanwhile the Mr Kuyateh spent 2 weeks in jail with even less circumstancal evidence against him.
Race play a factor? Who can say. Economic class? Very likely, kids in the suburbs would less likely be treated like that.
The fact that Ericsson comes from a long line of policemen in his family may contribute to his superiors protecting him.
The problem? This officer is still out there. Let the NYTs check his arrest records five years from now and see if he’s continuing to flip his camera switch and make questionable arrests.
4
Unbelievable conduct by a criminal.
I'm taking about Officer Erickson.
10
This whole thing is a disgrace including the police department review. The whole NYPD mess needs to be cleaned out. Start by forgetting about marijuana to remove the easy target for police corruption.
2
When leaning over and looking directly at the floor they see nothing. But then moments later a lit blunt is on the floor, which they were just leaning over and scanning? No way, no how someone leaning over the "lit blunt" and scanning around it could miss it. It would stink, it would be smoking, it would be burning the carpet which in turn would stink. (And as another commenter wrote a blunt would not stay lit that long) All the while they are talking amongst themselves about how they need to find something.
This is the modern day version of accusing a black man of touching or looking at a white woman in the south 75 years ago.
To the commenters who say if you do nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about: Go visit the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Then sit quietly and ponder how America treats black people.
17
"...the subtle social dynamics that shape policing in New York..."
Subtle? Since when is blatant racial profiling "subtle"?
9
I thought : wow they are driving BMW? They must be doing very well as young men! Wow!
3
@Miahona the kid works two jobs and bought it used. And you don't know how old a Beemer it is.
2
@Miahona What is your point? How is this relevant to the situation?
1
@Miahona Somehow I'm thinking your "Wow" reaction to the young man driving a BMW might be different had he been white. Perhaps, no reaction at all. This serves to provide some insight into why so many young black men are pulled over for no apparent reason. "He doesn't look like he should be driving a BMW. Obviously up to no good."
3
About 8 years ago, in Bloomberg’s nyc, I was walking in the area around 6th ave and west 4th, enjoying a hand rolled cigarette. Out of nowhere, a kind of semi-homeless looking guy wearing a hooded jacket rolled up next to me, waking abreast of me. “Ayo, ayo man, lemme get some of that!” Before I even blinked, he had pulled out a badge from a chain around his neck which he discretely showed to me, covering the interaction with his hooded jacket. “Nypd, what you got there?” He literally snatched the cigarette from my hand, pulled it up to his nose, and tweaked it aggressively. “It’s tobacco!” I protested. “Aight!” The narc said, handing me back the mangled smoke, and then literally blended back into the crowd with moments. The entirety of this encounter lasted maybe 10 seconds. I was shaken, not because my rights were violated, but because of the skill and sophistication of this operation. This cop was incredibly practiced, and clearly part of a larger and highly trained unit. It seemed absolutely ridiculous to me to stage such a large operation just to nab some people for simply smoking a joint. Now I was just a white guy smoking a cigarette, but imagine if I were anything other than that!
3
The article does not mention why prosecutors said that the testifying officer needs to get a lawyer. I imagine this little detail is at the forefront of every reader's mind.
4
@Mark Gribov
Officer was testifying (lying) under oath (Perjury)
I don’t see any evidence that makes it conclusive either way. It’s a broad reach to accuse every police officer of conspiring to punish young black men, especially when in this case at least, they admitted to just smoking marijuana prior to being pulled over.
1
@Reader I did not hear them admit to smoking marijuana. They said they were "just smoking" but not that they were smoking marijuana. I assumed they meant tobacco; why would they tell police they were just smoking pot, even if they were?
@Reader Yes of course you don't. Why see what you don't want to see even when it is glaringly obvious to anyone reading the article.
1
Obviously planted to make an arrest. Very common and police investigation? They protect their own. I have an alternate true story. Police come to UCSB dorm room (2001) on resident assistant report of suspected marijuana use. Police search and find nothing, but my son sees one police officer put a vial of marijuana semi-hidden behind a computer in his pocket. There are no arrests and police leave. BTW, many police officers, lawyers, judges, and others in law enforcement use marijuana.
1
Two points
1. Profiling exist. Profiling is very difficult to stop because it is a deeply ingrained problem, even if it is against the law. Therefore it is very important for everyone to use wisdom. Your choice, a) Do not fit the profile or b)have a plan of action in place if you do.
2. In this situation no one should be placed in jail. A person can lose their job or business, giving birth to another problem for that person, that family, that community, and the tax payers.
5
@DS
If profiling is racial, how do you suggest nonwhite people not fit the profile? What plan of action should tennis player James Blake have had in place after being tackled to the ground by a man who never identified himself as a police officer?
2
Let's acknowledge that a lot went right here. The cameras, while not conclusive, were certainly helpful. The judge and prosecutor acted responsibly. And the young man was set free.
It seems unlikely that the police officer could have been successfully prosecuted based on the evidence available.
Things I'd like to see change: I'd like it to be impossible for an officer to switch off his camera (deliberately or accidentally). I'd like to see the young man in this case released on his own recognizance, perhaps subject to a promise not to engage in illegal behavior.
I'd also like to see some departmental action against the officer. While it may not be possible to prove that the officer acted illegally, it does seem likely. But I suppose that no police union is going to agree to punishment for acts that are merely "likely".
8
@Jason he was set free after the kid spent two weeks in jail. This arrest makes me feel like the police have no credibility.
4
It is interesting that "white" collar crime is ignored by the police while they find it easy to subject minorities and the poor to intense scrutiny. It is the white collar crime that impacts our economy. In the 70s and 80s, the public works departments did not clean the streets of poor neighborhoods to "prove" to themselves that the people they prejudiced were dirty - and to place themselves above minorities on the social ladder. At the start of every day, everyone should take a pledge for personal integrity and equal treatment of others.
6
@Phyllis Mazik Violent criminals disable or kill their victims, so I say prosecute violent criminals first.
@me Nobody said anything about not prosecuting violent criminals. And it you don't think robbing vulnerable people of their savings and leaving them destitute in nonviolent, you might want to look again.
More to the point, why is New York squandering resources and debasing civil liberties by arresting anyone for marijuana?
It is 2018, this is a outrage.
Every adult ought to be perfectly free to walk into a retail establishment and purchase cannabis for recreational use, just like they can purchase wine or beer.
22
@Joel...should people be allowed to smoke and drive? If 3 of his passengers were smoking in the car with the windows up, what are the chances he didn't have AT LEAST a contact high? If you want to smoke, whatever, but don't get behind the wheel.
1
@Max but yet he was not arrested for a DUI.
@Max That was not why they were stopped. Apples and oranges.
If this is in fact true, shouldn't conspiring to deny someone's right to liberty, be a most egregious crime in this country?
How has it come to be, that those we pay to defend us, victimize us?
14
Use of police officers in this manner is a wasteful excercise. It serves little purpose to make an arrest of this type. How are the streets any safer? Everyone in Law Enforcement including the Courts, Prosecutors, Judges and the Cop on the Beat knows that jails and prisons are the Universities of Crime. In this case the young man only did two weeks. However he probably was sent to Rivers which is scheduled to close due to the poor state of the facilities, overcrowding, and generally a hellhole. This description also applies to the Correctional Officers and support staff. Nobody wants to remain at this Island facility.
Frankly, it was a horrible miscarriage of Justice to even impose Bail on such a small amount of Marijuana? This how our debtors' prison system continues to target minorities. Two weeks in jail will cost most people their job. How is this contributing to the well being of our society?
It's pure nonsense, short and sweet. Just stop it. Retrain the police officers who are arresting people on the small amounts of Pot. Judges need to have stricter guidelines in assessing any kind of bail. There is virtually no valid reason to keep people in jail for these type of infractions. ROR, or released on one's own recognizance is adequate in most all cases.
13
Abuse of power by those that are charged with maintaining law and order is the most vile form of indecent behavior that any public servant can be guilty of. The authority of the police comes FROM the public and, unfortunately, administrative bureaucracy too often impedes punishing those that abuse their authority. At a minimum, police abusing their power is equivalent to theft or kickbacks by a politician and should result in immediate suspension and probable dismissal. I hope that The Times will follow up on this case in particular and report back on the final outcome for all involved. It would also be good to note any eventual systemic changes that might better prevent such abuses in the future. Those that have any form of authority over another are, alas, too often tempted with abusing it for that is human nature. The challenge is to rein in such misdeeds and prevent them from occurring as much as possible.
8
This video does not clarify. That is to say that it does not prove that the marijuana was or was not planted. It neither proves nor disproves who committed a crime here. The only thing that it does prove is that while cameras can be valuable sources of evidence in others they can just contribute to the uncertainty as to what actually happened.
The discussion so far reflects the viewers’ presumptions about who is to be believed. It’s indicative of deep divisions and profoundly mistrustful attitudes, but it sheds no light on who did what, just how people’s attitudes affect their perceptions.
2
"Police and thieves in the streets, Oh yeah.
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition."
The Clash.
2
@Will-o
Correction a Junior Murvin 1976. Covered by The Clash in 1977.
The best way to curtail this activity is to hit the pension funds with fines. Once police see it costs them something when they are abusing their authority perhaps they won't allow other officers to trample on civil rights.
12
There is a possibility the first officer to inspect the back of the car chose to overlook the stub. I would do the same, since a friend was deported in the 1980s for possession of an amount of pot so small they had to vacuum his pockets to find it.
@Mrs Shapiroexcept we saw the video of the first officer's search and there was nothing. The crime here is wasting tax payers' $$ stopping cars for tinted windows and failing to use directionaIs. Is this what we pay police to do? Then, there's also the still rampant racial profiling.
@Mrs Shapiro
So a trained police officer might MISS a "LIT marijuana joint" really?
Maybe a PIECE of one, sure...but one that's lit, smoldering, with a constant stream of smoke coming from it?
That's a FIRM no...
That officer didn't miss ANYTHING, and he knows it.
1
A coincidence and an improbability occur at the same time. " what have we here " indeed. All these criminals previous cases should be reviewed .
3
I think that people are missing the real point. Driver was DWI - smoke in a car doesn't stay confined to the back seat. If it takes them off the street I am all for it.
2
@AC The article doesn't say anything about the driver being DWI. He was not charged with DWI.
8
That's right, AC, there's nothing scarier than a stoned driver driving 5 miles under the speed limit.
11
Distorted attention amounts to distracted which leads to accidents.
I am waiting for the day when all cars come standard with voice activated surveillance cameras. This kind of blatant disrespect by the police for the citizenry they are sworn to protect has got to end.
I am also baffled that there are people in this comment section cheering for the police. It's all fun and games until it's your rights being taken away.
15
Get rid of the tint on the windows and, as long as weed is illegal, don't smoke weed.
1
@Third.coast
Tinted windows are not illegal in NY. Any allegation of excessively tinted windows has to be measured with an objective device before a ticket can be written just as an officer cannot justify writing you a speeding ticket because it looked like you were exceeding the speed limit.
Absent the subjective complaint about the windows, there is no way of knowing a driver is smoking weed as his car passes or is followed by a cruiser.
@Third.coast Whites are more likely to use illegal drugs than are blacks but most of the arrests and convictions for illegal drugs are of Blacks.
Funny how that works out.
Until recently I thought that thr police are mostly comprised of honest people, with a few bad apples and a lot of bad actors on the other side who simply provocated incidents via unreasonable behavior. Then I was in an event that involved a police officer. A swarm of other officers showed up at the site. The effort to spin things in a light that put the officer in the best possible circumstance was palpable, to the point where a Sargent had to tell one of the investigating officers to back off and take a hike. I don't think I will ever look at the police with the same eyes ever again. They are not a fraternity. They are a frat house!
19
It looked like exactly what it was, two cops conspiring to falsify evidence.
21
Or one cop, more accurately, TLibby.
1
@Socrates
-I didn't notice the second cop object to the mysteriously appearing evidence at all. His only objection was to how many they could get away with falsely charging, So-crates.
This is exactly the kind of "policing" that makes us ALL less safe. Shame on these officers.
14
This type of police behavior exists across the nation and affects people of all color depending on what kind of car you are driving. A cop tried to frame me in Utah because I was driving in a 77 Volkswagon Bus with California plates. He pulled me over, and said I had a tail light out, which was a lie. Then he began to ask me if I had drugs in the car. I said no, I did not use drugs. He asked me if he could search the vehicle and I let him. He found an earring in my suitcase that was broken and said it was a spoon for doing coke. Another police man showed up and they finally let me go after 2 hours. I was alone and afraid, and thankful to get out of their presence.
4
@Gigi Lovesimilar thing happened to me in my VW van in Encinitas, CA. (c. 1997) I was pulled me over for "illegal Lt. turn by two sheriff deputies, which was untrue. My husband, a Navajo with long hair was in the passenger seat, my teenaged son in back. I figured they hoped to find drugs. There was none. I went to court to fight it and listened to to two sheriff deputies lie, adding on more wrongful charges. Before I went to court I had called DMV to see what the citation code written down by the officers next to their script, "illegal lt. turn." was. They had written the code for illegal rt. turn! I told the judge this, he flipped through the code book, and said she's right, case dismissed. The look on the sheriffs' faces? Priceless.
@Gigi Lovesimilar thing happened to me in my VW van in Encinitas, CA. (c. 1997) I was pulled me over for "illegal Lt. turn by two sheriff deputies, which was untrue. My TV, a Navajo with long hair was in the passenger seat, my teenaged son in back. I figured they hoped to find drugs. There was none. I went to court to fight it and listened to to two sheriff deputies lie, adding on more wrongful charges. Before I went to court I had called DMV to see what the citation code written down by the officers next to their script, "illegal lt. turn." was. They had written the code for illegal rt. turn! I told the judge this, he flipped through the code book, and said she's right, case dismissed. The look on the sheriffs' faces? Priceless.
The greatest absurdity is 4 officers, 2 patrol cars were tied up for at least one hour, (how long to process the arrest at station house?), over what appears to be a 1/4” joint. Tell me no assaults, robberies, rapes, murders, drunk driving went on during that time? Even if the arrest was clean and legitimate, what kind of choice in allocation of assets was that? The officers supervisors didn’t get called out for their failures? What about the cost to incarcerate and transport the accused to 10 court appearances? What about court costs associated with the 10 appearances?
Remember it was all over a 1/4” marijuana cigarette! How did the precinct commander keep his position with all this foolishness?
Somebody should be accountable. Police commissioner? Mayor?
19
@Mark Callaghan
Another "hustle" by some cops is making a weak arrest at the end of a shift in order to generate overtime hours. https://nypost.com/2018/02/20/nypd-cop-accused-of-false-arrest-admits-he-faked-overtime-reports/
2
"... in this case Mr. Kuyateh, the driver, was arrested and spent two weeks in jail, until he made bail."
Two weeks, what? I know how this is legally possible in the U.S., but why isn't there more outrage about this?
It's hard to imagine a person with more social capital, let's say, being held for two weeks without being convicted of a crime. Yes, I know about the unjust bail practices in the U.S., how it allows for low-income people to be held like this, but this practice also needs to be held to greater scrutiny.
21
I, too, drive a BMW sedan and have also been stopped twice in the past 3 years-once for also failing to signal and once for speeding. Both times I was within a quarter mile of my home, something neither of the officers who stopped me even knew because on both occasions, I was never even asked for my license. I didn't have marijuana in my car but they didn't know that either-I was never asked to exit my car. I was simply reminded of the speed limit and the need to signal when I was making a turn. But then again, unlike Mr. Kuyateh, I'm a white woman.
18
We all saw police commit a crime on camera.
Give them 10 so it never happens again. Enough of this lawlessness.
The criminal Trump needs to be locked up as well.
10
Arrest for recreational marijuana possession is so ... twentieth century.
7
The comments here are just as disturbing as the video. Too many people seem to think that planting marijuana is just fine as long as the person who ends up arrested has a history of being a "bad" dude. What a crazy world!
11
It's Staten island, so regardless of being NYPD, it's Staten island.
if you moved Staten island to South of the Mason Dixon line, they'll probably all feel at home there.
4
"In June, Mayor de Blasio sought to further reduce marijuana arrests after an investigation by The Times examined the stark racial disparities of marijuana arrests."
I still remember 2014 news articles — not opinion-editorials, news articles — published by The New York Times which claimed that racial profiling by the police force was a thing of the past. Perhaps we can have a Times Insider retrospective on what changed Times journalists' opinions?
8
Does NYPD have arrest quotas?
5
@Noah None that NYPD would admit to; none that NYPD officers can ignore.
1
@Dave So it's like an unspoken rule?
What a waste of time and resources.
7
Can't trust the cops, can't trust the president, can't trust the Supreme Court, can't trust Facebook, can't trust Catholic priests. At least we can trust SOME members of the free press to tell us about all these things we can no longer trust.
14
Obvious police set-up. Oh, and guess what, the victim is Black.
9
When moms from California are on morning news shows touting the benefits of marijuana vaping....https://www.today.com/parents/marijuana-moms-say-smoking-pot-makes-them-better-parents-t114510 - why oh why is anyone being arrested for having marijuana?!?!? Anybody?!?!?!?
6
Many (many) years ago I was called for jury duty in lower Manhattan on a high-profile case. The prosecution's case was going to rely heavily on the credibility of the police involved in the incident, so prospective jurors were being questioned on their experiences and opinions of the police.
I had received a parking ticket signed by a police officer, while I was *legally* parked. Feeling extreme annoyance, I contested it using hearing by mail, and the ticket was upheld. Enraged, I paid the ticket then appealed, sending in photos of the building number and parking signs in front of it, and noting the time on the ticket. I received a HANDWRITTEN check refunding the parking fine.
After being questioned about this whole thing in detail on voir dire, the prosecution laughed briefly with each other and then excused me from the jury in this case.
They will lie about anything. The parking ticket was trivial, but this little anecdote shows how the justice system can be corrupted at every level by this winking at lies.
When lies are told in the context shown in this article it is a travesty.
29
The attorneys control voir dire. It’s about the only thing that they can control. Your experience affected how you saw the police and court system. You are an honest person but the attorneys must try to limit what jurors consider to the evidence presented in the court not to knowledge that jurors might bring with them.
3
After watching the entire video, I believe it was a set up. Not surprising, terrible. I am glad the event had a true ending. Erickson should be prosecuted for his crime.
19
@Kathryn
Erickson should have to pay restitution for the lost job, income and incarceration of the young man.
Congress should enact legislation that prohibits distribution of federal funds to police departments that allow police unions to expend union funds for the defense of police officers accused of committing a crime.
Maybe then the Blue Omerta League will lose it's potency and ability to shield crooked cops. They don't understand, apparently, that defending the indefensible only taints them all, including the honest cops.
That judge and prosecutor clearly said they don't believe the testimony of the officers - at least in so many words.
I prosecuted cases for a local police department and I can recognize a crooked cop when it's plain as day.
9
I've been smoking weed for more than fifty years! Often smoked and now vape while driving. Though I've been pulled over while smoking a J maybe a half-a-dozen times, I've never been arrested, never stopped, and never searched. In more than fifty years of driving, often with older cars when I was young, I've been pulled over less than half-a-dozen times for any reason. Why? I'm a middle-class guy who kept his hair trimmed for his job and who wore a suit or jacket and tie to work most days. Obviously I'm also white!
I have a couple of Black friends from my school days. These were guys in my class and on the football team who got grades similar to mine. All three went to and graduated college. Two ended up in prison on cannabis related crimes, forever damaging their lives and prospects. But I who probably did more drugs than the two of them combined, ended up with a successful career and not one arrest in my life.
45
@BSargent oh you're a hero! All you've been doing is putting all the rest of us in jeopardy because you frequently drive impaired. I hope you don't kill one of you're own children or grandchildren driving stoned. You should be locked behind bars for driving stoned. Smoke all the pot you want...but don't drive a car.
3
@BSargent
New Hampshire is 93% white. You're saying all white people there get a pass from the cops? I'm skeptical.
Manhattan is filled with stretch limos equipped with blacked-out windows, presumably to protect the privacy of rich and/or famous passengers. I’m wondering how often one of them gets stopped for having tinted windows.
21
Do policeman have equipment to test for marijuana smoking within a certain time period? If this technology doesn't exist yet, it needs to be created.
Marijuana should be legal, but driving under its influence and selling it without a license should not be. There should be no searches, just test the driver for recent smoking.
2
The police have found cocaine and heroin many times in these searches. It gives credibility for the searches based upon smelling marijuana. But if the driver refuses permission for a search, they must have probable cause to proceed. They can get it if a dog indicates that it smells drugs in a vehicle.
Legalizing drugs would reduce the violations from felonies for possession to driving under the influence.
1
“An internal police investigation later found no evidence of misconduct.”
Simply put, the police have no business conducting investigations of their own personnel.
28
Yesterday I saw an individual smoking crack at 57st and 8th avenue . It was daylight 02:00pm. It's very common seeing people smoking crack and weed in subway stations, parks (including central park), street corners. In my opinion, this problem got worsen under the Bill de Blasio administration. I have no sympathy for any drug user. Drug money finance crime and violence domestically and abroad.
I support 100% the NYPD.
We need a republican in the office to handle this issue properly. The subways don't work properly and drug abuse is soaring . We need to give our police all the weapons and tools they need including “stop-and-frisk" .
1
Okay, how about we start by planting weed on you and arresting you for it. I have no sympathy for anyone who “backs NYPD 100%” and is willing to protect crooked policework.
11
@Fernando
You’re never going to be safe in a town with crooks on the police force. That’s what this video shows, Crooked Cops at work.
9
Fernando what you’re talking about has nothing to do with crooked cops. Erickson is a danger to citizens and immediately to his partner. He planted evidence, his partner will blindly back him up because that’s what cops do. The system will not hold themselves accountable because they can’t have law enforcement questioned or doubted. That man spent 2 weeks of his life in that decrepit house of horrors that is the NYC prison system. He will never get that time back and Erickson should pay with his freedom; for at least a good month and 6 years probation. He shouldn’t be allowed to be a police officer, he is a pig.
6
No surprises here ... if police can shoot and kill un-armed dark skinned people with impunity, what's to stop them from planting a little pot in their cars?
38
According to data collected by the Washington Post, in 2017, less that 2% of police shootings were unarmed African Americans. These are the most accurate statistics we have. (The figures are 17 out of approximately 1,000 police shootings.) I think you can look at this video and anyone can pretty much see whatever supports their own firmly established opinion. Police are not mowing down African Americans right and left as the media would have you believe. Sorry, by brothers on the left, facts matter when the right lies, and the same goes for you too.
@Melissa
Oh .. so police don't shoot and kill un-armed black-skinned people .. with impunity. .. ever.
Once again ... a demonstration that evidence-based discourse is not the right's forte.
Try out the thought that some police have used deadly force without sound justification and some unarmed people have killed other people. Then try to determine each case on the merits.
This campaign to rectify disproportionate policing attention up minorities has lost all sense of proportion and uses a narrative that generates fear and loathing without any attempt to reliably describe the problem. The optics are distorted to mislead and prejudice audiences. The circumstances are portrayed from unconfirmed accounts. The facts that contradict are asserted to be falsified. The outcomes that don’t follow the narrative are coverups by institutions serving a bigoted cabal which has highjacked our democracy. The proponents of this strategy think that they will intimidate those unseen masters of deceit into either retreating or infuriating the rest of the country into removing them from power.
I'm surprised there's no noting of the green baggy in the cop's hand right at 3:45-4:01, as he places it into the empty armrest compartment. That's pretty clearly what he was keeping the joint in for these kinds of drug drops so they can make their arrests.
Until the NYPD has independent oversight, they will continue to get away with this obvious criminal behavior and corruption of justice.
Disgusting.
38
@William For those who want to see the green baggie, check the lower left hand corner of screen at 4:00 minute mark. I hope this media attention means this is not a closed case for this officer.
1
This happened to me in Bryan County Georgia in the middle of the night while driving home to Florida on I-95--- they "found" a handful of pot in my back seat.. I haven't smoked in 20 years...was finally charged with "failing to signal while changing lanes" Much longer story but you get the point. Cops do do this.
21
Did anyone else notice the small plastic sleeve in the officer's hand at the 4:00 mark? Seconds later the small marijuana cigarette appears. Coincidence?
20
The officer “found” the joint (in plain sight on the floor) still lit after 5-10 minutes of searching? Still lit? Seriously?
38
"What do [I] see?". The officer planted marijuana in that car with the intention of arresting all 4 kids. But what else is see is a complicit NYPD and judicial system willing to turn a blind eye while lives and potential are tossed away by morally bankrupt criminals with badges. It's hard enough to get a job without an arrest record, so to arrest 4 innocent kids to stuff your stats without regard to the lifelong impact it will have on them is sickening. If the punishment should suit the crime this officer should be both without a job and in jail, not only for abuse of power but also with possession of marijuana with intent to frame!
42
I understand the video is concerning for other reasons but the only clear, undeniable problem I see is that a human being was put in jail for marijuana possession.
13
@Jonathan
Or driving a (BMW!) while Black.
1
So, were the windows too dark?
That was the reason the car was pulled over. I never saw any footage of the cops checking the windows.
9
I hate those black-out windows, and don't know why they are tolerated at all. Enforcement appears to land some where between highly selective and non-existent.
On "failing to signal" -- there's way too many false statements by police claiming this is the reason they stopped some one. A few have ended up in the news, but I'd heard reports of others, when an officer was hoping to nail someone for DUI, but had no reason to stop them.
Creating false evidence means that the cop who uses it has no integrity. It is one more thing that creates justified mistrust of all police. In this case, Pastran KNEW there had been no evidence and I would guess, didn't dare contradict his partner. This was about smoking pot! What if the consequences were greater?
It's both a matter of racism, and also of a pernicious culture of bullying, entrapment, and silence. Of "shortcuts" that are tolerated because the person being arrested or issued a violation is not from your tribe.
If you want others to follow the law - Follow it.
10
@cheryl Window tinting has to be checked during annual car inspections in New York State before the rest of the inspection is done. If the windows are too dark and violate the law, you fail inspection. So there's almost no reason for the police to check any car for windows that are too dark for any car that has had and passed an inspection since 2017. For someone to violate the law, they of had to added the tint after the inspection, but then they would fail the next inspection, so it wouldn't make much sense.
6
For the life of me, I just can't understand why blacks, men in particular, feel threatened by police. The cops are all about public safety and justice, right?
6
@Glen,
I hope that was sarcasm.
Otherwise, your first sentence sums it up - for the life of them.
Between being actually killed and having their freedom taken from them, it is about their lives
2
@Blue
Look at this video again, Blue. I'm not trying to say these guys are saints-in-waiting, but from my interpretation, this was a frame from the get-go. Would four white guys have been put through the same search, with the same attitude from the officers?
@Blue
Look at this video again, Blue. I'm not trying to say these guys are saints-in-waiting, but from my interpretation, this was a frame from the get-go. Would four white guys have been put through the same search, with the same attitude from the officers?
Maybe I'm just stupid. There is a truck on sixth avenue and 21st street that sells pot edibles like they were hot dogs. Why are we wasting resources on this archaic policy when pot is almost legal?
11
That truck, named weed world is a scam. No weed anywhere in the world is so weak.
1
Which corner? I'm going to the city next week...
If the police were naughty, I hope they are disciplined accordingly.
However, isn't it against the law to be smoking pot in a motor vehicle? At minimum it's like having cocktails right? And how is that these teenagers are driving a BMW? Who owns the car? How was it paid for? What does their tax return look like?
And why are those tinted windows allowed anyway?
2
@Ines Cops planting evidence that leads to arrest and jailtime is not "naughty", it's against the law, and cops found doing this should be fired and thrown in jail for perjury if they made contradictory statements during a trial.
Are you also concerned about how teenagers in Long Island are able to afford BMWs? Why does that matter? Why should that be a license for cops to stop people and pull them over and plant drugs on them? You should be free to drive whatever car you want as long as you follow the rules of the road.
9
@Ines Except it's pretty apparent that the police planted the marijuana. And would you be questioning young people driving a BMW if they were white? No, you wouldn't. The fact is that you can get a BMW on a lease for $300 a month. And as I've posted elsewhere, windows are checked as part of New York State car inspections annually since 2017. So if the windows violated the law, they would have failed inspection. Bet you don't wonder about tinted windows on limousines.
7
@Ines
"naughty?"
Isn't it a sin to bear false witness against thy neighbor?
1
Erickson is clearly guilty and should be prosecuted and if convicted serve his time in prison. Planting evidence, even on passengers who were guilty of other crimes, is 10 times more serious than smoking weed.
17
Looks like a plant to me. However, the driver is definitely not "innocent". I strongly support marijuana legalization, but I also support arresting those who smoke marijuana while driving or if there is marijuana burning in a vehicle while in use. It should be almost exactly like alcohol restriction- no open containers, no weed smoking in a vehicle in use. Both are safety hazards that should be illegal. One of the problems with marijuana legalization is proving driver intoxication, which you can do with alcohol. However, in this case, even the car’s occupants readily admitted that they’d just been smoking weed, so the driver was "guilty" of driving dangerously.
Also, I couldn’t tell from the video whether all the windows were tinted or how dark they were. However, I support dark tinting all around being illegal. In any event, it’s a guaranteed way to draw attention from the cops, and for good reason.
So, in my opinion, cops who plant should get locked up. Also, folks who drive dark tinted window cars or have weed smoking in an operating vehicle should get stopped and ticketed or arrested just like a drunk driver.
5
@Marcos No, they admitted they were smoking, not that they were smoking joints.
1
I didn't see anything about the driver smoking pot. It was another occupant who said that.
I’m a bit confused. If the driver admitted to just smoking marijuana, isn’t he guilty of a DUI and put the public at risk by driving in an altered state?
5
He wanted all 4, that’s why. The guy should not be a cop.
@X "isn’t he guilty of a DUI" Not necessarily. Just as having one drink generally does not lead to DUI. The officers could have, but did not, do a field sobriety check if DUI really was suspected.
At the very least, Officer Erickson AND the prosecuting DA need to spend as much time in jail as they gleefully placed the Defendant.
10
On no! No, no, no! That is not at all what went down. If that was a "lit" joint why wasn't the joint smoking? The claim the officer put the joint "out" is completely unsubstantiated. Period. The videotape shows absolutely no lit, smoking or burning joint or, in fact, that the officer actually was putting it out. There is no case here and I hope the driver who was jailed for two weeks sues the NYPD. That is absolute gross misconduct on the part of the police officers. While most NYPD officers do a great job, this is not one of them. Just wait, there will be another incident with this police officer because his dishonesty is inherent to who he is.
18
The problem is what you don’t see. You cannot see the carpet behind the driver’s seat and you cannot see what the officer is doing just before he reports having found the marijuana joint. The video allows too many possible explanations for what one hears and sees. Remember, people who need to escape arrest lie as do officers who have committed wrongful acts themselves. In situations like this the officer is going to be trusted more than the driver. This is because too many guilty people act as he did only to be clearly proven to have lied. They accuse police to have planted evidence too many times where they later confess that it was not. Courts and internal investigations will give police the benefit of the doubt because mostly they are truthful, despite the assertions of them making things up to make arrests.
2
Enjoy your Jim Crow world, Casual Observer.
Both police and prosecutors are also known to lie to keep their batting averages high.
Police and prosecutors are known to happily destroy minority lives for minor marijuana violations while letting whites 'have a nice day'.
You should really take your head out of the white sand.
I'm white, for the record.
25
You should stop thinking that the way to end racism is just to repeat a lot of stuff that you hear about police enforcing institutional racism for some secret cabal that is maintaining a Jim Crow regime. The stereotyping by police is based upon biased sampling. The biases come from all kinds of reasons. Some are because of racial prejudice but most are because of experiences with people who have committed crimes remembered rather than objective analyses. One bias comes from so many people lying to them trying to evade them, it makes them mistrust anyone who loses it when they are investigating for possible violations of the law. The police officer here may have planted evidence but not necessarily. Too much here is obscure to tell.
The prosecution dropped the charges because they found problems with the truthfulness of the police officers testimony. Cops lie all the time, almost as often as criminals it seems. Blue lies matter.
2
I live in California where pot is legal. It amazes me that a progressive state such as New York has not legalized marijuana and instead wastes precious time and money prosecuting people for something so minor. Lawmakers may want to take a trip to the west coast and see for themselves whether it is worth it to upend lives for a drug we have the choice here of freely using when we choose or not. Get with it!
29
It’s how they keep themselves in business, cops, prosecutors, and public defenders who actually don’t defend squat!
@Ann Lacey
The truth of the matter is that plenty of people in "the hood" are "riding dirty" and the traffic laws should be used to get them off the street. But if cops are going to use their discretion in choosing who to stop, then they should use a little common sense when making arrests.
I often find myself behind cars on the road where clouds of (what seems to be) marijuana smoke come wafting out. I'd like situations like that to be treated like drunk drivers. A must arrest.
I don't like the hyper enforcement of traffic laws if it's done selectively in low income or "minority" neighborhoods or in any community as a means of generating revenue. But if a car has a busted tail light and expired plates and heavily tinted windows, definitely get him off the road.
In this case, I can believe it's possible they were smoking in the car and I can believe it's possible the cops planted evidence. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-body-camera-tampering-20180124-story.html
How high was the bail that the defendant had to sit in jail for two weeks? Was the vehicle impounded? Were there "storage" charges on the vehicle? If convicted, what would have been the maximum penalty for possession of a marijuana roach a quarter inch in length? Would it have been a fine? Would the fine be more or less than the cost of jailing someone for two weeks? Did the man lose his jobs after two weeks of absences? How much "court time" and "court pay" did the cops get?
1
It was public defenders -- particularly Taylor Poor of the Legal Aid Society -- who exposed this criminal misconduct, putting trust in a client everyone else wrote off, fending off needling judges urging pleas and prosecutors willing to suborn perjury, and ultimately trying to speak truth to power even as the case was being dismissed. Don't knock the people who fight for our rights.
1
So the cops correctly assessed that the tinted window BMW was driven by young men who were smoking pot and had been in trouble before. If I lived in that neighborhood I’d call that good policing. They just went too far.
Did you even watch the footage? I'm not opposed to the traffic stop, if they truly had grounds for it. However, what happens after the stop is very strange and suspicious and in my opinion not good policing.
19
At this point, I'm very skeptical of all police--and this video just adds to that.
I think we need to do away with arrest quotas for police, vet police officers more thoroughly (any hint of racism--even on their social media accounts or anywhere gets them kicked off the force or not hired in the first place), make marijuana legal in NY, get rid of insane/racist causes to pull someone over like "overly tinted windows" and have an external committee who are NOT connected the NYPD review police misconduct.
Years ago I was on jury duty and the defendants were two young African American men. They were charged with "jostling" or bumping into someone to steal a wallet. The police officer who testified said victims said he was robbed by two guys who were both wearing black hoodies. Evidence showed that when both young men were arrested, neither was wearing a black hoodie (one was wearing a red one and the other a blue tee shirt). Yet they were both arrested and put through the system. We found them not guilty and truthfully, it was shameful to see how they were treated and how desperate the police were to just "round up the usual suspects" and make an arrest, thinking it would work out.
NYC has to make a change.
58
Police make arrests when the evidence is strong but not conclusive. Prosecutors must provide evidence that proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Defendants will be released when a case is not strong enough to support a conviction.
There was ZERO evidence. It was all fabricated.
There was a case, but it was of the unlawful officer doing a frame up.
5
@Casual Observer
"Defendants will be released when a case is not strong enough to support a conviction. "
Really! I guess you didn't read about the case where a NYC teenager (16 yo) was kept incarcerated in an adults jail for three years without a trial, until he was released. He then committed suicide!
Welcome to the real world!
4
Awful reality, when you have forces of order ditching justice to the basement. And perhaps a heavy dose of discrimination. We can do better, right? We tend to forget we are all corruptible, just waiting for the 'right' circumstances and the right price to step in...and out. Just in case you have misgivings about the justice being shared equitably, do not expect the police not to protect their own (if past is prologue...).
7
These two nit-wit officers couldn’t be more obvious in the way they planted evidence and yet they got away with it. They, the DA, and the judge should be held responsible for this gross miscarriage of the law. There will be no trust in the police, nor the rule of law, if these people keep getting a pass.
35
You listened to the narrative of the driver rather than just paying attention to what you could see without it. Guilty people lie. If you make a presumptions, it will affect what you perceive, and who you think is lying.
the liar was caught on tape lying, no less by his partner.
4
@Casual Observer Except that the presumption must be that of innocence. And note that the charges were dropped so the courts agreed.
This type of harassment by the police does them no good. If the police are seen as corrupted and as enemies, it makes them less safe and it also means that the communities affected will not cooperate with the police when crimes take place.
And let's not forget that depending upon the amount, marijuana possession has been decriminalized in New York. It's a misdemeanor and you should't be arrested - you should be issued a ticket. Why did this kid have to spend two weeks in jail? Do you think he would have spent two weeks in jail if he was white and from a wealthy family?
I commuted by car from Queens to New Jersey for six years from 1990 to 1996. Every single car I ever saw pulled over contained black men. Every single one. (And for the record, I'm white.)
2
Any arrest involving a body camera that "just turned itself off" should be automatically voided and removed from public record. Only this will stop the nonsense of corrupt cops.
109
The first officer neither saw or smelled burning maraiuana but the second officer was able to spot it? The NYPD indicts itself with its finding of no wrongdoing by its officers. They should only have the respect they earn.
36
To help officers NOT to have "faulty" body cams, there needs to be a law that throws out any charge where the body cams 'fail" for ANY reason.
41
The Feds needs to be brought into to give some oversight into the nypd. Staten island cops and the DA work in concert and routinely violate the civil rights of minorities. They violate the law, because they believe there is no consequence for their abuse
14
This officer needs to lose his badge. This story made it to The NY Times, but countless numbers don’t. The prevalence of racist behavior by cops needs to stop now. Until officers are held fully accountable nothing will change.
Beyond disturbing.
71
Marijuana is still illegal in New York? What a waste of time and resources.
40
@Joe It's decriminalized and a misdemeanor, so I fail to understand why this kid was arrested. You're supposed to be issued a ticket. I wish the article addressed that.
1
@Joe Only if you're black. If you're white, drugs--of all kinds--are perfectly legal.
I just can't believe that the police force continues to shelter officers who are obviously doing something illegal.
19
Why are police officers wasting everyone’s time on nickel and dime nonsense like this? I’m sure there are enough serious crimes to keep them busy without them making fools - or worse - of themselves. The actions of a few cause negative stereotypes to be applied to many; young black men understand how that works. I’m not so sure police officers understand that same lesson.
14
Lock Him UP.
Seriously.
3
Yes, I mean the Police " officers ".
4
@Phyliss Dalmatian You may have been correct both times. :-)
And what did all of this cost the taxpayers of New York?
13
Do drivers in NYC drive better when stoned on pot? Do they drive over less pedestrians after a joint? Perhaps someone has the numbers!
While this might be interesting as a way to abuse the police the real fact remains, these guys were smoking pot and driving, the driver somehow being immune to second hand reefer smoke.
The two police officers should be commended for doing the right thing.
5
@Yerachmiel Mordechai "the real fact remains, these guys were smoking pot and driving"
Why are you so sure that the "real fact" was that these guys were smoking pot? The only evidence of pot in the car is the joint that wasn't there when Officer Pastran searched the back seat, but mysteriously came out of nowhere when Officer Erickson searched the same area.
7
@DaveMaybe I'm certain because the admission is in the video tape and also in the article.
Jump ahead in the tape to 1:03
Driver - No, there's no weed in the car
1 second later
Passenger: I swear to G-d, we just smoked
Also as quoted from the article, from the second section down from the top:
"What happened?
On Feb. 28, two officers from Staten Island’s 120th Precinct, Kyle Erickson and Elmer Pastran, stopped a BMW sedan. The officers said the windows were excessively tinted and the car had turned without signaling. Four young black men were inside.
It appeared that at least some of the young men in the car had been smoking marijuana, which they admitted during the stop. But the young men told the officers they had just finished smoking, and insisted there wasn’t any more marijuana in the car."
1
@Yerachmiel What evidence is there of the driver or other occupants smoking pot? There is none.
Anyone with any experience smoking "marijuana cigarettes" knows that a joint won't stay lit on it's own and will extinguish fairly quickly unless drawn upon. Tobacco cigarettes have chemicals added which keep them burning. Not so with Marijuana. There is no way a joint would remain lit after the several minutes of searching by the police.
36
@Rob D
And if it was lit, the smoke trail would have led them to it immediately.
Cops that lie about evidence need to be fired.
10
Why is ANYONE still being arrested for marijuana possession? This is crazy.
15
how can these police officers sleep at night? How many black men need to be put in prison before these entitled police officers think that they have won?
This is disgusting. Don't we have important crimes to solve?
13
Wouldn't a DNA test on the joint confirm whether or not any of the defendants were actually smoking it.
Strange how easy it would be for the police to confirm 100% it wasn't planted through a DNA test, given the concern it could have been planted because of the lapse in body cam footage.
20
@Jerry Callo Because wouldn't the police, potentially, taint the DNA? If we're dealing with crooked cops, cops who would plant evidence, then how can we believe that the evidence is clean?
2
@Jerry Callo
The crime is possession. Proof of inhalation is not required. Happy to help out.
I was called for jury duty in a criminal case last year. I was one of the people called into the box as possible jurors who were then asked a series of questions by the judge. One question essentially asked if anyone in the box might view a police officer's sworn testimony as untrue. I said yes and upon further inquiry I said something like all police can't be perfect and some might, from time to time, have a reason to be less than truthful. The prosecution subsequently asked that I not be part of the jury. I'm conservative by nature and even though I am respectful and appreciative of law enforcement there are some police who interpret protecting and preserving the peace differently. Why would I trust 100% of the police 100% of the time? This video smells rotten to me.
118
@Charlie - You are correct.
The basic premise is the police testimony is truthful, that officers will not lie, and that they have nothing to gain by lying. Despite all the evidence that that is not true. Not that police lie all the time, or even do so on purpose. But the premise that officers are 100% truthful 100% of the time just is simply not true.
29
@Marie When I've served on a jury in NY, the judges have made it quite clear that the testimony of the police shouldn't be given any more credibility (nor any less) than anyone else who testifies.
5
I do the same thing. I do not trust police officers or sheriffs. They are as highly motivated to lie as defendants. I have had neighbors in law enforcement who went on disability for injuries. One of them built an addition on his house, by himself, during his disability leave for a "back injury." Cops should never be granted unquestioned trust just because of what they do.
4
How dirty cops stay on the force: investigators refuse to find them guilty of wrongdoings and juries won't convict them. No different than white juries refusing to convict violent racists in the past. Nothing will change without accountability.
81
@Vinson ...plus Internal Affairs (investigators of these cases) ARE the police.
It's like having Trump appointee Whitaker investigating Trump.
4
This is tremendous reporting
Well done NYT
100
First. My belief is marijuana should be totally legal.
I am not offering any opinion on the incident per se.
What I want to know is why does a defendant who owns a BMW get to have the Legal Aid Society represent them ?
4
@John Taylor Just because he has a car that you think is flashy and expensive doesn't mean he has money. In fact, he bought a car, so maybe he now has no money.
Would you think the same thing if it were a Chevy or a Ford? He said he bought it used. Are you suggesting that he should sell his car to pay a lawyer? And then not be able to get to work?
29
the question should be "why, in this prosperous country, does a person working two jobs still need legal aid"? wages are low and legal fees are high. owning a used BMW is not a sign of prosperity.
10
@John Taylor
You're off base Mr. Taylor. The young man bought a used car. I very much doubt that this was a flashy sedan that cost $60,000. Though not mentioned it was probably several years old and though a BMW not all that expensive. I find it very troubling that you made such an unnecessary comment.
By the way I've got a new BMW 2018 X3 SUV, that cost well over $65,000. I paid cash for it. Do you care to make value-judgement about my economic status? Does that make me a progressive or liberal? Or guilty of smoking marijuana? I don't and I don't support driving while under the influence either. Nor do I believe that car windows should be heavily blacked out. I find that suspicious. And I don't believe that a body camera suddenly and conveniently turned itself on and off at key moments.
There's a lot of bad judgement and bad actors on all sides in this case. Maybe the cop needs a lawyer.
11
This is why the cops love marijuana to be illegal. It gives them all kinds of excuses and plausible deniability to harass people.
45
@Mobocracy Black people. Everyone else is free to go.
1
I had no idea it was still legal to arrest someone for having a personal amount of weed?
13
And just a bit north, Massachusetts’ first retail marijuana stores will open tomorrow.
37
I see a couple of nit-wit cops who should have written tickets for the minor traffic infractions and left it at that.
18
@MIKEinNYC I'm not convinced the minor traffic infractions are even legitimate in the first place. "Failing to signal" is the kind of thing that falls into the same category as "furtive movements" as an excuse for police to stop somebody: The entire evidence is "cop says they saw it", versus "driver says they didn't do it", and that almost always goes in favor of the cop in court.
2
@Dave
There was also the overly tinted side window glass.
2
2 Weeks in Jail, this appears to be a sad case of driving while Black. He deserves a settlement from the city!
53
@Rick No, the city can take it out of the officer’s pay.
12
He should sue for civil rights violation.
When will America abandon it's slavery era view of African American people? African Americans are American and deserve the same freedoms. Including the freedom to be black. To have tinted windows. And to not be thrown in jail because the authorities can do it - for no reason. Where's your humanity? It's disgraceful.
12
Mayor DeBlasio suspend them without pay. It's those cops that need to be off the streets, right now.
21
There’s so much wrong here. From pulling a car over for tinted windows? Then the motive is clear. Both arresting officers say”we got to find something. There has to be something here.” It’s quite clear that they want to make an arrest (or several). This isn’t about protecting hr public, it’s simply about maximizing arrests. This then provides the motive for Erickson to plant the evidence - a minuscule amount of marijuana that they want to use to justify arresting and Charging 4 individuals!
And that neither the NyPd nor the judge did anything to punish the officer or to thoroughly investigate this planting of evidence? At least the da office decided to drop the prosecution. But not after the guy spent 2 weeks in jail over a minuscule amount of marijuana that was planted in his car.
And the juste and the nypd did nothing.
23
Proud of Legal Aid and Taylor Poor!
11
This is just ridiculous. The officer should be put on suspension for 30 days without pay. If it was a replay in football it would be no TD. Also, I cannot understand the amount of money spent on a blunt. It appears, some or many, in the NYPD simply want to hassle black young men because if they didn't they'd have a tough time arresting and convicting women breast feeding.
Wake up....stop the madness.
11
Looks like a case of driving while black. And, it looks as though these NYPD officers wanted pretty badly to find something in the car. What they found was no more than an excuse to arrest the black driver.
15
Legalize it now this is a crime against humanity
9
really? watch the magic trick by racist cops in Racist Staten Island. so here we go. nothing here as you can see and hookus pokkus look what we got, audience don't pay attention to the plastic bags the cops had on him, now back to the trick well a Joint was here in the back all along. Amazing. busting young bloods and on top of it this article has to bring out the bloods previous record for what? not relevant to this setup by criminal cops.
5
@George Chernetz When did you EVER risk your own life to protect a total stranger? Never, I would be willing to bet. So don't bash LEO's, until you have ever contributed to the safety of law abiding citizens. And, I think that a history of violence, gang membership etc IS relevant.
3
@me Police officers do NOT have license to lie or fabricate evidence, no matter how many lives you think they save. NO license at all to break the law. In fact, they need to be held to a *higher* standard, with harsher penalties if they transgress the laws in any way. Why on earth do you want a world where police frame citizens? Is it because you feel safe from this happening to you?
2
@me If someone has done something wrong, as the cops have here, they deserve to be criticized. In fact they deserved to be fired, charged and convicted of making false charges.
But more than that, the entire justice/legal system that sent a young Black man to jail for two weeks needs to be dismantled. It's not just the cop on the street that did wrong. It's the judge and prosecutors that let him get away with it, the law enforcement brass that demands quota arrests of young black men, the political executives and legislators that turn a blind eye to all of this.
It is unbelievable the police department found no wrong-doing in this case. It is plain the evidence was planted. I and many others wish we could be proud of all the men and women who protect and serve. But when the department protects obviously bad apples it performs a greater disservice to the reputation of officers than the total of all politicians decrying their actions. Next time I hear a police spokesperson say we shouldn't let a few bad apples taint the entire department, i will shake my head realizing it wasn't a few bad apples, it was police department leadership.
41
@R
Most people become police officers because they want to help people. Racist policing is a systemic, top down problem, with the "bad apples" rewarded for doing the right thing and everyone else punished for doing the right thing. That's what good cops tell me.
Until We the People stop letting the mega-rich house use our own government to divide us, our Constitution and our Republic are in mortal danger.
The first two things our Constitution says are necessary to perfect our Union are Justice and Tranquility. Unjustice laws imposed by a militarized police state have nothing to do with justice or tranquility.
Law and Order are are not mentioned in the Constitution, because law and order are not the point. Justice is the point, and until We the People start demanding justice instead of being tricked into voting for unjust laws and order imposed through state violence, there will be no justice and there will be no peace.
1
@R "Next time I hear a police spokesperson say we shouldn't let a few bad apples taint the entire department, i will shake my head realizing it wasn't a few bad apples"
Also, the original phrase was that "a few bad apples spoil the barrel", which means declaring crooked cops to be "bad apples" is accidentally telling more of a truth than intended.
Shame on all of them; Pastran, Erickson, Mayor DeBlasio, Judge Robles, the police internal investigations unit. They are all part of a coverup, one we don't deserve and should not put up with. Isn't there a lawyer out there who will take Mr. Kuyateh's case on and make the PD and the pols own up, and maybe pay up too?
29
Sadly... the only people who pay in such settlements are we the taxpayers.... with no serious consequences to the people who deceive, lie and coverup.
6
Regardless of what's on the body cams, what I see is a) someone who's been pulled over for driving a BMW while black, and b) someone being accused of simply possessing a small amount of marijuana, which shouldn't even be a crime.
13
A rather obvious case of evidence planting. Without being stoked, marijuana doesn't stay burning for the four minutes the officers camera was shut off. It would have gone out within a minute. The amount of time that passed from the time the car was pulled over to when the police said they found it was even longer than four minutes. The cameras don't conveniently shut themselves off while an officer fiddles around with a small plastic. The officer should be fired and possibly be charged.
22
@TimToomey
And if it was burning, the smoke trail would have led them to it immediately.
The cops obviously lied about evidence.
1
Pastram, you were almost there. Almost. You can still fix this by telling the truth. You will probably be ostracized by the force, have a miserable time at work, but wouldn't you rather have that and know it was because you were truthful? The truth has to start somewhere. Why not with you? You will give courage to other officers who will follow your example.
Fix this, Pastram. You have the power.
39
It’s absolutely preposterous the one cop cleared the backseat and then after another search find the lit joint. Then a young man spends 2 weeks in jail over this. These cops should of been fired.
11
Wow! This video had to be from years ago, right? No way police officers would target a young group of black men just because they were in a nice car, driving around Staten Island!
How many young white urban professionals get arrested in NYC for possession of marijuana? Get handcuffed, put in jail, and do time?
I'm starting to believe that there is racism in this country.....
18
I did. And I was wearing a bankers brooks brothers suit. They arrested me. It was scary. They humiliated me. Yelled in my face that I was going to jail. God forbid I was a minority. They would have killed me, or had me beaten down.
For a tiny bit of cannabis. Nice people.
6
Are you being sarcastic! The article states “The New York Times has obtained body-camera recordings that document one arrest earlier this year on Staten Island”. So now you have proof that it does happen. Enjoy your day.
So they've 'scaled back' arrests; it doesn't mean Pawson of marihuana is legal.
How about you talk about the number of arrests AND the race of the offices who MADE the collar?
If it's inky whit offices, then threes an issue, but, I'd be willing to bet the arrests agw made by officers of ALL racers (asian and Latino, included).
1
@U.N. Owen
It its no so much the average officer that is racist. It is the system, the brass, and the policies, official and unofficial, that reward racist behavior from the top down, and punish police that only arrest the guilty because they don't make their quotas.
"Law and order," and "tough on crime" are not in the Constitution. The Constitution demands Justice and Tranquility. But politicians keep corrupting the Constitution by enforcing unjust laws using militarized police to impose order.
Democrats need to focus on justice and tranquility and fight the right-wing demands for law and order. Law and order may (or may not) be necessary, but they are certainly not sufficient to create Justice.
I wonder whether, in future cases where Officer Erickson is called to testify, defense attorneys will try to enter this Times article as evidence.
9
@Michael Evidence of what? That's not how the law works.
@Eric Evidence that Officer Erickson's credibility under oath is something that can and should be called into question.
8
Testifying cops cause more problems than framing young men for petty offenses. They also send people to prison for life. The exoneration projects around the country have proven that police perjury and prosecutorial misconduct are responsible for many grave miscarriages of justice.
The key point in your article— barely mentioned — is that the NYPD investigated OfficerErickson and found nothing. The department should never be allowed to investigate itself. And the DA should have charged the cop with obstructing justice. In this case the NYPD, the DA and the judge are all conspirators to perpetuate a broken system
22
At 4:00 there's a baggy (re)placed? in the console. Also, we all should be alarmed at the fact police are "under pressure" to make arrests. We must disincentivize the act of arrest and instead promote and reward community-based policing, reduced sentences for non-violent crimes (such as tail lights!), and realize these teens did nothing wrong except intrude on this officer's perceived sense of power. Shame on the involved officers and those who supported him in a clearly criminal effort to besmirch these young men.
5
Here in California, marijuana is legal now. I don't love it that when I go around town with my kids, we are exposed to the smell of pot in many public places: the beach, hair salons, parking lots, parks, and even while driving on the freeway.
But I support legalization, because marijuana laws have long been a tool for discriminating against minorities. Plenty of white kids smoke pot. If they were putting 19 year old white kids in jail for three weeks on pot charges along with the black kids, I'd say fine, the law's the law. But when a law is being broken by all races, yet sending kids of only some races to jail, then that law has gotta go.
13
Marijuana possession cases never get to a jury. When they do, if there is even one person on the jury who knows his rights as a juror and an American he will nullify the law and vote not guilty.
2
I didn't watch the entire video but what I did see makes me wonder strongly if this was a violation of the victims' Fourth Amendment rights. If the rest of us want to be protected from illegal search and seizure, we must insist that law enforcement prove crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
13
@R. Anderson One of the officers claimed (most likely falsely) that they smelled pot, which created probable cause that made the search legal.
After states began to legalize pot, a lot of cops in those states complained that they couldn't claim they smelled pot in order to arbitrarily search vehicles. To which civil liberties types responded: "Yup, and how is this a problem?"
3
There's one very important piece of information left out of this article:
While I agree marijuana should be legal, driving under the influence is illegal and dangerous to everyone.
The officers smelled pot and the occupants of the car admitted they had been smoking it, but the article makes no mention of Mr. Kuyateh being tested so see if he had been smoking as well.
Was he?
3
@Chris Manjaro - how was he to be tested for marijuana? One of the issues here in Mass now that it is legal is that there is no test as there is alcohol. You can do a sobriety test, but that only tests impairment, not the source of it.
3
@Marie There are breath tests that meassures how much THC is in the blood, much like how they test on alcohol. The force should use it.
1
@Daniel - "There are breath tests that meassures how much THC is in the blood"
Funny the Mass State Police is not aware of such a device. Nor do there seem to be any where they are accepted in court. One of the most recent pieces you can find finds that "The machine detects THC's mere presence in the breath, but it cannot calculate the amount of THC consumed."
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/04/634992695/the-pot-breathalyzer-is-here-maybe
This will be tested in Boston. But that's all that they have now. And even the limits aren't scientifcally agreed upon.
1
The judge doesn't want his court turned into a "... a political place where these things are brought up." I didn't realize that police potentially planting evidence was a political rather than legal issue.
170
@Pete What about Mr. Kuyateh being tested for driving under the influence?
@Chris Manjaro - you are saying that Mr. Kuyateh was exhibiting signs of impairment and somehow these fine and experienced officers missed such an obvious thing when they stopped him? Never occuring to them to do a test?
Sounds like “We have to find something,”
18
@Chris Manjaro Do we know for fact that the driver did smoke? I hear a couple of the others saying they smoked, and NYT's article says "that at least some of the young men in the car had been smoking marijuana" but not that the driver had been.
12
The Blue Wall of Corruption and White Supremacy.
Nice People.
89
Body cams have proven to be an essential tool for improving civil rights and police misconduct. They should not be controllable by officers.
100
Indeed. Officers should not be able to turn them off
13
The cops make these petty arrests for money.
Cops get paid for court appearances. Some departments pay for 8 hours for a court appearance.
The article didn't mention this, but many departments will tow the driver's car. The cops get cash kick backs from the towing companies.
Incidents similar to this happen all the time on Miami Beach.
70
@mrmeat The article didn't mention whether Mr. Kuyateh had been tested for DUI.
I support legal weed but driving while using is illegal and dangerous to everyone.
@Chris Manjaro
This seems to be an obcession. There must have been a reason he wasn't tested. I'd say he doesn't sound as if he is impaired and if he was under the influence would he have reacted as strongly to what he believed was an officer planting evidence as claimed by the police to arrest him? Are stong, imediate reactions evidence of marijuana use? I think not.
7
C'mon, Mayor de Blasio! How much longer does this absurdity need to continue before you instruct YOUR police department to invest their time tracking down real criminals. Is this really a good use of limited pubic resources? Are you running the show, or is it the police unions? You said you were going to deemphasize marijuana enforcement, so hop to it. Stop dinking around while countless lives continue to be ruined over nothing!
It's absurd that this young man spend TWO WEEKS in jail over, at best, a half burned marijuana cigarette or, at worst, a setup by the police. What does the city get out of all the time and trouble it took to arrest and incarcerate the driver? Does that benefit anyone?
The sad thing is that not even one person reading this article is thinking to themselves, the police would never plant drugs on an innocent person. We've learned over the years -- the hard and pathetic way -- that some NYPD officers have been and will continue to be corrupt. It's just harder to pull off now that most of them are required to wear body cameras.
All I can say is, thank goodness NYPD officers are finally wearing body cameras. In some cases a camera is the only thing standing between citizens and gross malfeasance and injustice. In this instance, had there been no camera, a potentially innocent young man might have had his life ruined!
119
@Bill Randle - true, true and true Bill.
Except, who says his life has not been ruined?? Have you ever spent TWO WEEKS in a NYC jail?
5
@Bill Randle California just passed bail reform. It is way past time for New York to do the same.
1
The obvious question: before bodycams, how many young Black men had their lives ruined by overzealous cops willing to do anything to make an arrest in order to please their bosses, the Mayor and the Public?
Just imagine what must of happened under Bloomberg's illegal Stop and Frisk program. No amount of money he gives away will make up for all of those lives ruined.
169
@profwilliams
Not "overzealous," corrupt cops.
11
@Bill Michtom Not just cops--prosecutors and judges have long participated in presenting and accepting testimony whose falseness was blatantly obvious. How many times was a search justified because of a "furtive movement?" How many times did an officer swear that the defendant had dropped the "glassine envelope" on the ground in front of the officer?
5
@malcolm let's have this conversation again after you spend 2 weeks in jail, ok ? Stuff happens there that i believe is worse than losing a ' Fortune 500 employment opportunity'.
3
The driver didn't signal before he made a turn????!!! As someone who walks two miles to the office every day I see a lot of drivers and I would estimate 99% of the drivers I have seen don't signal when they turn. Since when do cops care about signaling before turning? In my opinion NY has the worst drivers in the USA. As far as the video it's hard to see if a joint was planted or not. Reasonable doubt to me. Any charges against this man should be dropped.
35
I see a waste of money time and resources. Soon marijuana will be legal in all states and this ridiculousness can stop
47
@J Clark by that time, white men have mustve made a ton of money jailing black and brown bodies. Money in jailing black and brown bodies and money in making marijuana legal.
As a black woman, there is no way I'm having children in this country.
54
File charges against a NYC cop and see what happens......
11
TV show Blue Bloods had a recent episode where actor Tom Selleck tried to justify enforcement of this law. A very weak argument and this film shows what happens when the policemen on the front line are required to enforce this stupid law
3
Pay cops more ...and expect more. Cops should all have degrees in deescalating situations; cultural sensitivity classes; mental health training, etc. And since we’re not just hiring bouncers, maybe do more personality testing and adopt stricter recruiting standards — how many of us have had interactions with police in which a cop on a power trip made things more difficult and/or unpleasant than they needed to be? Finally, (somehow?) create and enforce a culture that makes good cops NOT cover up for bad cops.
15
@Geoff
In general, NYC cops are quite well paid. Better paid than many teachers or mental health counselors and better than all of the folks in "service" jobs
Would love to know what sources of income this 19 year old has to be able to buy a BMW with tinted glasses.
@Sam Old BMWs are not that expensive. They depreciate much faster than other brands. The top-ten ist of fastest-depreciating car models is mostly BMWs. Source of income? You could probably swing it with a part-time job.
22
Young White Men too can afford a used BMW. Why enter overt racism? They were profiled. Plain and simple. A used bmw is far less expensive than a brand new car. Maybe it was in bad condition, and the article did say that the young man worked two jobs.
What is wrong with wanting a nice car? Is driving a bmw illegal by a black man? What is wrong with these police officers?
This is the AMERICAN way!! To have something nice to drive. There is no reason in this world to justify pulling over a car because the driver is black and that person is driving a nicer car than the arresting officers do. Throw the case out!
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@Sam so not the issue dude.
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I believe the police planted the blunt in the car because he turned off his camera and turned it back on after he placed something in the back of the car. Prior to that there was nothing and the other office confirmed it. Then all of a sudden when his camera mysteriously turned back on, the blunt is found. Secondly, why is the case sealed? This video is a clear demonstration why minorities do not trust cops. NY Police Department's investigators are also complicit in this crime. They are the ones who need to go to jail.
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The victim is obviously telling the truth.
It bellies all reason to argue someone would lie about a claim they were framed, when they knew the officer had a body camera pointed at them the whole time—the consequences for lying about an easily disproven frame job would be far more immense than anything for marijuana. The only person with an incentive to lie is the officer, as he knew when the camera was turned off.
This isn’t just ‘he said, he said.’ An officer disabling his body camera is evidence, just as much as disabling a bank camera right before a robbery would be evidence. No jury would watch a suspect disable a bank vault camera, then determine “well, no one can say for sure who emptied the vault 30 seconds later.”
Pretty inarguable.
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Can we get a change in the law so police can’t stop people for broken taillights and “tinted windows”? Have them take a picture of the license plate and the problem and send the owner a ticket in the mail, like what happens if you get caught on a cam not paying a toll or running a light. There has to be a way to use technology to end these kind of pretextual stops while still enforcing order in traffic.
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@Big Cow
You can’t because the enforcement and prosecution industry wants pretexts to stop and then search vehicles and confiscate property. That objection was recently raised to marijuana legalization.
Photo-mail enforcement would also save officers lives from traffic accidents.
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@Big Cow
Corrupt police officers would then seek and find other pretexts to stop drivers they want to arrest.
The basic problem that needs to be solved are corrupt police officers. They must be punished and removed from office without exception.
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