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Brooklyn bar owner details Adams-era NYPD shakedown claims in $6M lawsuit
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Aug 26, 2026
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Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published Aug 26, 2026
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A Coney Island bar owner claims in a new lawsuit that NYPD officers illegally raided his establishment multiple times, and that the brother of the police commissioner at the time shook him down for money when he complained about it.
The man, Shamel Kelly, claims the trouble started when he complained to an NYPD watchdog about a ticket he got for an illegal U-turn in 2022. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, said police then raided his bar numerous times.
When Kelly complained to then-Mayor Eric Adams’ community affairs unit about the retaliatory raids, a staffer there referred him to James Caban, the twin brother of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, according to the lawsuit. James Caban said he could settle the issues and sought $2,500 from Kelly, which he refused to pay, according to the lawsuit.
Kelly claims the city and other defendants violated his constitutional rights in various ways through the treatment that ultimately led to his business closing. He’s seeking at least $6 million in damages. His attorney, Bernarda Villanova, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Reached by phone, Edward Caban said he has never met Kelly, but declined to comment further. James Caban could not be reached for comment. The NYPD declined to comment, and the city's Law Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal proceedings and law enforcement actions against former officials in the Adams administration. Since Adams left office, federal prosecutors have indicted Adams' former Chief of Staff Frank Carone and former high-ranking NYPD official Kevin Taylor on bribery charges. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Federal law enforcement also targeted other former NYPD officials with raids the same day Carone was indicted. Numerous other former NYPD officials — including another former commissioner — have filed lawsuits alleging Adams corruptly governed the department during his administration.
The lawsuit claims that former Police Commissioner Edward Caban used his authority to exonerate officers involved in one of the raids at the bar.
It claims Edward Caban “cultivated an environment within New York City that allowed its officers to engage in misconduct and violate constitutional rights.”
NYPD raids
In the lawsuit, Kelly claims a police officer accosted him outside the bar in September 2022 and wrote him an unwarranted summons for making an illegal U-turn. The summons was dismissed, and Kelly subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, according to the lawsuit.
Then over the course of 2023, officers visited the bar at least 20 times, including in a June raid by more than 40 officers from the 60th Precinct, according to the lawsuit. Kelly said he was issued 26 violations as a result of the raid, but all of them were eventually dismissed.
In August 2023, Kelly complained to the mayor’s community affairs unit, where a staffer told him he could either sell his business or speak with James Caban, who then requested the money, according to the lawsuit.
When he refused to pay, the harassment by the NYPD increased and Kelly’s business ultimately closed, the lawsuit states.
Tagged
Politics
brooklyn
nypd
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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