Photo: NYTimes.com
A New York Times investigation is shedding light on the corners police officers in NYC cut in order to make arrests, by showing how one cop planted weed in a black teen’s car during a routine traffic stop.
Welcome to America, where “driving while black” is a crime.
The incident actually occurred in February this year, when cops pulled over a black BMW in Staten Island. Officers Elmer Pastran and Kylie Erickson decided that the car’s windows were too tinted and that the driver had not used the lights when turning, so they asked everyone inside to get out.
There were 4 teens in the car, including 19-year-old Lasou Kuyateh. Pastran told him he could smell weed inside the car, and then informed his partner that the boys were part of a dangerous gang called OTA. The boys admitted that they had smoked weed inside the vehicle but swore “to God” they had nothing on them at that very moment.
Backup arrived before the officers started searching the car. Two separate searches revealed nothing inside, to the growing frustration of Erickson. His body camera went off for about 4 minutes and, when it magically turned back on, he just leaned forward and retrieved a smoking blunt from the floor of the car, in the back seat. Several plastic bags filled with marijuana were also discovered.
Kuyateh spent 2 weeks in jail on drug possession charges, but during his pre-trial, he maintained that he had been set up by the cops. The judge presiding over the case understood this too, because Erickson testified in court that the lit blunt wasn’t covered by anything when he found it – even though 2 previous searches had somehow missed it.
This is when the case was closed and Erickson was advised to get an attorney. Charges against Kuyateh were dismissed and his case sealed. The NYPD told The Times that Internal Affairs investigated and looked through the footage, and that both officers acted appropriately.
The judge refused to comment, as also did Erickson. Pastran wasn’t available for comment when the New York Times reached out to him.
The incident actually occurred in February this year, when cops pulled over a black BMW in Staten Island. Officers Elmer Pastran and Kylie Erickson decided that the car’s windows were too tinted and that the driver had not used the lights when turning, so they asked everyone inside to get out.
There were 4 teens in the car, including 19-year-old Lasou Kuyateh. Pastran told him he could smell weed inside the car, and then informed his partner that the boys were part of a dangerous gang called OTA. The boys admitted that they had smoked weed inside the vehicle but swore “to God” they had nothing on them at that very moment.
Backup arrived before the officers started searching the car. Two separate searches revealed nothing inside, to the growing frustration of Erickson. His body camera went off for about 4 minutes and, when it magically turned back on, he just leaned forward and retrieved a smoking blunt from the floor of the car, in the back seat. Several plastic bags filled with marijuana were also discovered.
Kuyateh spent 2 weeks in jail on drug possession charges, but during his pre-trial, he maintained that he had been set up by the cops. The judge presiding over the case understood this too, because Erickson testified in court that the lit blunt wasn’t covered by anything when he found it – even though 2 previous searches had somehow missed it.
This is when the case was closed and Erickson was advised to get an attorney. Charges against Kuyateh were dismissed and his case sealed. The NYPD told The Times that Internal Affairs investigated and looked through the footage, and that both officers acted appropriately.
The judge refused to comment, as also did Erickson. Pastran wasn’t available for comment when the New York Times reached out to him.
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