By Bryan Fitzgerald
A veteran Troy cop was arrested
Wednesday for allegedly tipping off a suspect in a drug ring that investigators
were about to raid his home.
Officer Brian Gross has been
charged with felony evidence tampering and other charges. Before a courtroom
full of Troy police, Gross pleaded not guilty in Troy City Court. Some of the
Gross’ colleagues that were in court were reportedly upset they did not receive
any warning of Gross’ pending arrest. The case is being handled by Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman’s office.
Gross was assigned to assist
with the State Police’s narcotics unit.
Gross’ arrest stems from a State Police investigation of a Rensselaer
County drug ring that began last year.
From the story on our main
page:
One of the suspects whose
residence was raided allegedly told State Police investigators that he’d been
tipped off that a search warrant would be executed. The person who told the
suspect allegedly admitted receiving this information from Gross, who arranged
in-person meetings using text messages, according to the complaint.
The Attorney General’s office
said that the person who tipped off the suspect, after learning of the raid
from Gross, had been told by the officer to “watch [his] back” because he had
come to the attention of the State Police, according to the Attorney General’s
office.
A week before the raids, Gross
again warned the person not to have drugs inside the residence because “there
was a good chance the police would be getting a warrant,” according to the
complaint.