It’s nothing new to hear Black and Latino males complain about “Stop and Frisk,” New York City’s controversial policing policy. But this time, 21-year-old Jurard St. Hillaire says he has proof the cops stopped him unlawfully and is arguing his case in Brooklyn Federal Court, the New York Daily News reports.
Last June, St. Hillaire was recording a police car stop with his cellphone in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. Shortly after, the plainclothes officer who stopped the car can be seen approaching St. Hillaire, forcing him up against the wall and frisking him.
What the cop–or Hillaire for that matter–may not have known at the time was that the encounter was recorded by a camera mounded on a nearby building.
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“This happens numerous times per day and nothing ever happens to the officers because … it’s not captured on video, Richard Cardinale, St. Hillaire’s lawyer, noted. He played the video for U.S. Magistrate Robert Levy in court this week, which will likely aid St. Hillaire in his lawsuit against the city for the search. He cites excessive force and false arrest as his reasons for the suit.
Watch the video of St. Hillaire getting stopped and frisked here:
Surprisingly, a city lawyer sided with Cardinale on the search’s illegality. “Just looking at the video there didn’t appear to be a basis for the stop, that’s my humble opinion,” city lawyer Pernell Telfort said.
Magistrate Levy urged both sides to come to an agreement in the ongoing case.
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Busted! Video Possibly Captures Illegal ‘Stop And Frisk’ Of Man Recording Police Stop was originally published on newsone.com
