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Did Cops Plant Weed On Brooklyn Prosecutor?
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2012
Modified Jun 5, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 5, 2012
Modified Jun 5, 2012
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A prosecutor working for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes has been suspended without pay following a strange altercation in Queens late Saturday night. 41-year-old Yaser Othman, who's been an assistant district attorney for two years, was driving on the Whitestone Expressway when he allegedly swerved in front of four narcotics officers traveling in an unmarked vehicle. Sources tell the Daily News Othman was driving erratically, and the cops and other vehicles "had to swerve to avoid colliding" with him. So they pulled him over, but Othman refused to get out of the car.
Police say Othman took a swing at one of the sergeants when they forced him out of the car and were putting the handcuffs on him. After cops say they found a joint in a cigarette carton, he was charged with attempted assault of a police officer, obstructing justice, resisting arrest, marijuana possession and reckless endangerment, DNA Info reports. But in an interview with the NY Post, Othman insinuated that he was set up. “I am innocent of what they say that I did," Othman insists. "The truth is going to come out. I don’t know anything about a marijuana cigarette. I can’t say if they planted it." If they did, it would hardly be a first.
Othman was arraigned on Sunday and released without bail. He tells the News that during his time in the clink all he kept thinking was "this can’t be happening and someone will come and apologize to me." We're sure Ray Kelly is putting together a nice conciliatory muffin basket for him at this very moment.
Tagged
brooklyn
charles hynes
da
marijuana
yaser othman
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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