Complaint #201501953,
March 17, 2015

Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Search (of person)
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Discourtesy: Word
CCRB Conclusion: Unsubstantiated
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Cussen, David
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Moncada, Tatiana
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 18
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 18
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Search (of person)
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Song, Daniel
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 17
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Stop
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Song, Daniel
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 17
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Search (of person)
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Song, Daniel
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 17
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Black Male, 37
Allegation: Discourtesy: Action
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer: Smith, Cory
Complainant: Hispanic Male, 18
Allegation: Abuse of Authority: Frisk
CCRB Conclusion: Substantiated (Charges)
Officer Complainant Allegation CCRB Conclusion
Smith, Cory Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Search (of person) Substantiated (Charges)
Smith, Cory Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Refusal to provide name/shield number Unsubstantiated
Smith, Cory Black Male, 37 Discourtesy: Word Unsubstantiated
Smith, Cory Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Frisk Substantiated (Charges)
Cussen, David Black Male, 37 Abuse of Authority: Stop Substantiated (Charges)
Moncada, Tatiana Hispanic Male, 18 Abuse of Authority: Stop Substantiated (Charges)
Smith, Cory Hispanic Male, 18 Abuse of Authority: Search (of person) Substantiated (Charges)
Song, Daniel Hispanic Male, 17 Abuse of Authority: Stop Substantiated (Charges)
Song, Daniel Hispanic Male, 17 Abuse of Authority: Search (of person) Substantiated (Charges)
Song, Daniel Hispanic Male, 17 Abuse of Authority: Frisk Substantiated (Charges)
Smith, Cory Black Male, 37 Discourtesy: Action Substantiated (Charges)
Smith, Cory Hispanic Male, 18 Abuse of Authority: Frisk Substantiated (Charges)

Conclusion Meanings:

'Substantiated': The misconduct occurred and it violated the rules. The NYPD has discretion over what, if any, discipline is imposed.
'Unsubstantiated': or 'Unable to Determine' - The alleged conduct was investigated but could not determine both that the conduct occurred and that it broke the rules.

Further details on conclusions.


Penalties

Cussen, David
Forfeit vacation 3 days
Closed: Resolved by plea, January 17, 2018
APU Guilty
Forfeit vacation 3 days

Smith, Cory
Forfeit vacation 25 days
Closed: Resolved by plea, June 29, 2018
APU Guilty
Forfeit vacation 10 days

Song, Daniel
Forfeit vacation 12 days
Closed: Resolved by plea, June 8, 2018
APU Guilty
Forfeit vacation 5 days

Moncada, Tatiana
Forfeit vacation 2 days
Closed: Resolved by plea, January 17, 2018
APU Guilty
Forfeit vacation 2 days

Summary

A Black man was standing on a public street in downtown Flushing next to a marine recruiting center, waiting for a car service he had called. Two teenage Latino men were speaking with the recruiter. Nearly everyone else on the busy pedestrian street was Asian. Plainclothes members of an NYPD anti-crime unit, led by Sergeant David Cussen, and including Police Officers Cory Smith and Daniel Song approached the man, asked him for ID, frisked him, and searched him. They also asked for the IDs of the two men who were talking to the marine recruiter. When the man asked for a shield number, PO Smith pulled his shield out from under his shirt and held it up to the man, but did not give his name.
Before the officers were shown surveillance video of the incident, they stated that they had observed the man looking at women's purses as they walked by, that they were familiar with him from a prior arrest, and that there was a bulge in the man's pocket that appeared to be a dangerous weapon. Sergeant Cuseen stated that he had not played a role in the stop, and that only PO Smith had done so. PO Smith stated that he simply had asked for identification, which the man had provided, and that he did not search the man's pocket but that the man had voluntarily shown him that he had an iPhone in his pocket. PO Song stated that he only did crowd control and spoke with the men at the recruiting office, but did not search them.
The video of the incident showed that in fact Sergeant Cussen initiated the stop by asking for the man's identification, that PO Smith frisked the man, and that the two men speaking to the marine recruiter were frisked and that their backpacks were searched. This corresponded precisely to the complainant's account and did not match any officer's account of the incident. When confronted with the video, Sergeant Cussen stated that he had confused the incident for another one, then stated repeatedly, at the urging of his attorney, that he didn't recall key portions of the incident.
The CCRB found that all three... Read report for details.


Details

Incident: March 17, 2015
Closed: October 7, 2015

Reason for contact: PD suspected C/V of violation/crime - street
Location: Street/highway
In NYPD 109th Precinct Queens
Outcome: No arrest made or summons issued

Video evidence collected