A
Brooklyn man is suing the NYPD after he was cuffed earlier this year when cops
confused breath mints he was carrying for ecstasy pills, according to news
reports.
According
to the suit filed last week in federal court, 46-year-old Robert Hankins was
falsely arrested in April after police found the breath mints in his pocket and
accused him of having drugs, the The Smoking Gun and the New York Post both
report.
Hankins
was booked on drug possession charges and spent about 30 hours in police
custody, the papers report. Prosecutors later dropped the charges after
discovering the purported drugs were actually Pow-brand energy mints.
"Fresh
breath is not a crime. It’s unthinkable that mints from Walgreens could be
confused for Ecstasy pills. All the officers needed to do was smell them.
They’re wintergreen,” Hankins’ attorney told the Post.
It’s
not the first time NYPD officers have confused candy for drugs, according to
The Smoking Gun. In October, a man filed a civil rights lawsuit against the
department after he was arrested when officers mistook blue and red Jolly
Ranchers for methamphetamine.