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Cavaliere: Too early to pass judgment.
Police launched an internal affairs investigation Sunday into why an alleged drug dealer arrested overnight was driving a car owned by a rookie policewoman, and how officers handled the arrest.
The arrest took place overnight. It involved a significant amount of drugs.
The officer who owns the car in question graduated from the police academy in October and is about to begin an assignment in the Newhallville/East Rock district, according to several cops familiar with the investigation.
The department’s internal affairs division launched an investigation into the incident within 12 hours, Chief Dean Esserman said Sunday.
“The investigation will be broad, thorough and swift … focused on everything that occurred last night,” he said.
Lights Were Off
The incident began on Quinnipiac Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Here’s what happened, according to top East Shore cop Lt. Vincent Anastasio:
Officers Matthew Borges and Garry Monk, who focus on drug interdiction, were monitoring an apartment complex where police have previously made narcotics arrests.
They saw a driver pull out of the complex in a white Honda Crossover. He had his lights off.
The driver proceeded to Fulton Street, then took a left onto Farren Avenue toward Townsend. The cops followed.
At 11:37 p.m., the driver then turned left onto Quinnipiac, his lights still off, at which point the officers pulled him over.
They asked the driver for his license.
“I don’t have a license,” the man replied.
The officers did a computer check and found that his license was suspended.
They then patted him down. They felt a bulge in his pants that they suspected was narcotics. They asked him what it was. “Nothing,” he replied.
The officers then handcuffed the suspect and placed him in the back of their cruiser. They ran a check on the Honda’s plates. The owner came back as the policewoman. Monk, who had her number, called her.
“We have your car over here,” Monk told her. He then drove the keys to her home, which is nearby. She found a ride on her own to retrieve the car.
At no point did the officers discuss the policewoman’s relationship to the arrestee, Anastasio said.
The officers were ending their shift. So instead of calling for a prisoner transport van, they drove the suspect to the police station at 1 Union Ave. for booking.
At the station, as they took the suspect out of the car, the officers noticed bags on the floor that appeared to contain drugs. At the lock-up, a marshal patted down the suspect, and found more alleged drugs. He did not have a weapon on him.
The suspect, who’s 37 years old, was charged with driving without lights and without a license, and with four narcotics-related offenses, including possession and intent to sell. He posted bond and was released before sunrise.
The cops ended up confiscating what they estimate to be four “eight-balls” of crack, each of which can be repackaged into 50 to 75 bags for street-level sales; and another four eight-balls of heroin.
Was The Car A “Tool”?
The policewoman recently completed field training. She has been assigned to the Newhallvile/East Rock district. She had not been placed on leave as of Sunday.
“We will make a determination” about what if any action to take when more facts are in, Esserman said.
The policewoman could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Police had previously questioned her about her relationship with the arrestee, according to people familiar with the case.
Besides her connection to the case, investigators are expected to look at how officers handled the arrest — including the decision to release the car. Cops must determine whether a car is a “tool” in the commission of a crime when choosing whether to impound a car.
Reached Sunday, police union President Louis Cavaliere Jr. called it “too early” to comment on the case.
“I’ve got to see the reports first,” he said. “I know this is a new officer. I don’t know what it is true and what allegations are factual at this point.”
At this point, he said, “I don’t think she did anything wrong. If the cops contacted me to retrieve my car, I would have done the same thing.”