Complaint #201603275,
June 2, 2015

Summary

A man was on the stoop of his home in the Bronx with a friend. Three narcotics detectives, driving by, believed that they saw a hand-to-hand transaction (one man had in fact paid the other back five dollars that had been borrowed). The narcotics officers approached the men and asked to see their IDs. The man who lived in the house declined, saying he was on his own property. He then asked the officers for their names and shield numbers.
At least one officer provided his name and shield number, and the man went into his house to get a pen and write the number down. When he returned with the pen, the officers tackled him and arrested him for making excessive noise. The officers stated that a crowd had gathered because the man had been shouting, and that he had been threatening them with the pen.
A neighbor had recorded the entire scene on video, and while the recording did show that one officer had provided his badge number, it demonstrated that no crowd had gathered and that the man was holding the pen by his waist when the officers tackled him. No narcotics were recovered.
The CCRB found that while the officers were justified in making the initial stop and inquiry, they had arrested the man without probable cause and lied in their CCRB interviews.
The NYPD provided each officer with formalized training. Read report for details.