NYPD Officer Charged After Viciously Tackling Black Woman Over Candy

NYPD Officer Facing Charges For Tackling Black Woman After Mistaking Her Candy For Drugs

A shady NYPD cop with a history of brutality is now facing charges for his harsh encounter with a Brooklyn woman back in 2013.

via NY Daily News

Two NYPD officers allegedly stormed a Brooklyn apartment, knocking the door open and a woman to the ground, after they mistook the lollipop she had in her hand for drugs, according to a complaint filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

In April 2013, the black-clad duo — who later identified themselves as police officers — forced their way into the East New York apartment of Malik Saunders, 38, as his friend Jarnale Henry was leaving to go food shopping, Henry and Saunders testified Monday during a departmental hearing.

Henry, 38, testified she retreated back into the apartment “Because they were scary-looking.”

She said the men forced their way in, knocking her to the floor. One of them then jumped on top of her and began frisking her, she said. Only later, she said, did they identify themselves as cops.

The cops, Detective Sekou Bourne and Sgt. Afzal Ali, testified that the apartment and Saunders had been under investigation for drug-related activity for at least four months prior to the 2013 incident. Bourne said he thought the lollipop in Henry’s hand was “a controlled substance” — crack — and said he frisked her because he thought she might have had a weapon.

Bourne faces unlawful frisk and search charges and both cops face unlawful premise entry charges.

Additional reports detail one of the cops’ history with brutality and strange justification for why he attacked the woman in such a forceful manner.

via NY Post

Bourne is also under investigation on separate allegations that he knocked 17-year-old Marcel Hamer out cold last June because he thought the teen was smoking pot. The encounter in Clinton Hill was caught on video.

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.

This cop sounds like he’s waaaaay overdue for a court-ordered “break” from his job….indefinitely.