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NYPD Detective Arrested For Lying About Stop-And-Frisk Cocaine Bust
By
John Del Signore
Published May 1, 2014
Modified May 1, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 1, 2014
Modified May 1, 2014
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Dozens of NYPD officers attended the arraignment of fellow cop Said Salim yesterday in a show of support for the veteran detective, who stands accused of lying under oath on multiple occasions regarding his arrest of two individuals for cocaine possession in 2009. Prosecutors say Salim arrested the men without probable cause and then gave testimony that contradicted video surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts.
Salim testified that he stopped the men in July 2009 because he believed one of them looked like a confidential informant and he wanted to speak with him. According to the Manhattan DA, after realizing that he was mistaken, Salim "told them to leave the area and take their duffle bag with them. He further testified that after each man denied the bag was his, Salim searched the bag and found two bricks of cocaine."
But prosecutors allege that Detective Salim searched the two men without probable cause and happened to find the big stash of cocaine as a result. "The defendant arrested both men, stopped and frisked them, and then searched the bag," Assistant District Attorney Ryan Connors told the judge during the arraignment. The drug possession case against the two arrestees was ultimately dismissed because of Salim's perjury, the Manhattan DA alleges.
Salim "falsified" testimony to "create probable cause in the case," prosecutors argue. But Salim's attorney tells the Daily News, "He has a lot of support in the department because people think this this is an outrage." Following his arrest yesterday, Salim told prosecutors, "I didn’t know anything about a video. My testimony was accurate. I may have been mistaken about the timing of when I patted them down. I didn’t want to tip off the person who was with the [confidential informant]."
The charges against Salim include a perjury, making a false written statement, and official misconduct. "Dishonesty from a member of the law enforcement community is detrimental, not only to the rights of defendants, but to the reputation of all law enforcement in the communities we serve," District Attorney Cy Vance said in a statement.
Tagged
cocaine
nypd
perjury
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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