Detective Sekou Bourne, the same cop who knocked a teen unconscious for smoking a cigarette, is now being accused of tackling a woman to the ground for sucking on a lollipop.
A new complaint filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board alleges that Bourne and Sargeant Afzal Ali raided Malik Saunders’s East New York apartment in April 2013. Saunders’s friend Jarnale Henry, fell to the ground after the two forced through, and says that Bourne jumped on her and frisked her. Henry told the New York Post, “He pushed me down… They knocked my lollipop to the ground. I fell on my leg, onto my whole right side.” According to Henry, the two men did not identify themselves as NYPD until later. Henry was not charged with anything.
Bourne said in the department hearing on Monday that he had thought the lollipop was a “controlled substance” and thought that Henry might be armed. The cops say they identified themselves before entering, and had been scoping out the apartment for drug-related activity four-months prior to the incident. Here’s Bourne’s version, via the Post:
At Monday’s hearing, Bourne admitted the woman had only a lollipop, but said the way she asked, “What do you need?” indicated she was selling drugs.
“I thought it was a drug-related question. I thought she was asking me if I needed any drugs,” Bourne told the CCRB.
“That’s when I identified myself as a police officer.”
He also said he didn’t tackle her, she tripped.
“She tripped and fell on her own. Then, I got on top of her and began frisking her for my safety,” he said.
Both cops face charges of unlawful premise entry. Bourne also faces an unlawful frisk charge.
(Photo: Auntie P)
