An NYPD officer allegedly took $1,300 from a man’s pocket in Coney Island during a stop-and-frisk, reports the Daily News. The money has not been accounted for. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office is investigating.
In video footage recorded at the scene, the cop frisking construction worker Lamard Joye “appears to reach into Joye’s pocket and pull out a thick wad of cash.”
When he and his sister complained, the officer pepper-sprayed them. Lateefah Joye, a basketball player, says:
I went to get his badge number and name. I leaned over to see his badge. He pushed me away. I saw a two and a one and that’s when he pepper-sprayed me in my mouth and my whole face.
The incident took place at around 12:30am on September 16th, at the Surfside Gardens housing project. The siblings say they saw cops “roughing up a young man” nearby, and started shouting “Is that necessary?” The cop then turned on them and proceeded to stop-and-frisk. The siblings’ lawyer, Robert Marinelli, says:
I believe that this officer made an assumption that any money Mr. Joye possessed was obtained illegally and therefore he would not report the theft. This assumption was wrong. Mr. Joye is a hardworking taxpayer deserving respect.
Joye provided pay stubs, bank records and visual evidence of cashing his paycheck. It was the day of his wife’s 35th birthday. (Images: Daily News)
