NYPD officer
allegedly takes a man's money during arrest
The
Brooklyn DA’s Office is probing whether an NYPD cop stole $1,300 from a
construction worker while searching him in Coney Island, officials said.
The
investigation was launched after a video emerged showing the unidentified
officer putting his hand into the pocket of Lamard Joye and pulling out what
looks like papers as the Brooklyn man is being held up against a fence shortly
after midnight on Sept. 16.
In
the video — which was taken by an onlooker with a cellphone camera — Joye can
be heard yelling after the officer took the “papers.”
“Give
me my money, man! Give me my money!” Joye exclaims.
The
officer then pepper-sprayed him, said Joye’s attorney, Robert Marinelli.
“The
cops thought they could just go in his pockets, take his money, Mace him and
leave,” said Marinelli. “If there wasn’t a video, nobody would believe this
happened.”
The
officer originally approached Joye, 35, after Joye allegedly yelled at cops
arresting a young man.
“What
are you going to do to him?” Joye said, making a reference to Eric Garner, the
Staten Island man who died in July after cops put him in a chokehold, a
law-enforcement source said.
After
allegedly taking the dough and pepper-spraying Joye, the cop also
pepper-sprayed Joye’s sister, Lateefah Joye, who protested the alleged cash
grab, Marinelli said. She had also asked for the officer’s shield number.
Lamard
had that much cash in his pocket because he planned to take his wife out of
town to celebrate her birthday, Marinelli said.
The
lawyer said he gave investigators for DA Ken Thompson bank slips and pay stubs
to prove Joye had the money legitimately.
Marinelli
said he also gave the video to the DA’s Civil Rights Bureau, sparking the
probe.
“We
are aware of the incident, and it is being actively and thoroughly
investigated,” said Thompson.
“The
incident was precipitated by a call of a man with a gun,” the NYPD said. “When
officers arrived at the scene, they encountered numerous people at the
location. As a result of the allegations, the matter is under investigation by
the Internal Affairs Bureau and the CCRB [Civilian Complaint Review Board].”
Joye
wasn’t arrested or charged, and still hasn’t gotten his money back, Marinelli
said.