The following post was shared with the CopBlock Network anonymously, via the CopBlock.org Submissions Page. It was originally published at the Gothamist by
The post details the court appearance of Jason Arbeeny, an NYPD cop who was caught planting drugs on innocent people in order to meet department arrest quaotas. During his sentencing hearing he began crying and begging the judge not to send him to jail. Amazingly enough, the judge actually stated that he had intended to sentence Arbeeny to jailtime, but instead decided to give him a probation as a result of his courtroom breakdown.
Do you think things would have gone the same for anyone who hadn’t committed their crimes while wearing a Magic Suit and Shiny Badge or was this just the typical Policeman’s Discount in action?
If you have a video, personal story involving police misconduct and/or abuse, or commentary about a law enforcement related news story, we would be happy to have you submit it. You can find some advice on how to get your submission published on the CopBlock Network within this post.
Click the banner to submit content to CopBlock.org
The Brooklyn South narcotics detective who was convicted of planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend was sentenced to five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service. Former cop Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year NYPD veteran, was previously found guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct for planting drugs on innocent suspects—a crime he claimed he did in order to reach quotas. Arbeeny broke down in tears at his sentencing today: “I can’t look at myself in the mirror anymore,” Arbeeny told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach. “Sir, I am begging you, please don’t send me to jail.”
Arbeeny tearfully apologized to his victims: “My oath went down the window, my pride went out the window,” he said. And Reichbach was moved by his tears: “I came into court this morning determined that the nature of this crime requires some jail time,” he said. “I frankly didn’t expect the defendant, at the 11th hour, to be making these claims.” Arbeeny, who mentioned that his young son is in therapy after threatening suicide over his father’s fate, was facing up to four years in prison.
Arbeeny had been found guilty of “flaking”—planting a twist of crack under a car seat during a Coney Island bust in January 2007—and for doctoring paperwork to make the arrest last. Altogether, “flaking” has reportedly cost the city $1.2 million to settle cases of false arrests.
During the trial, Justice Reichbach made a direct connection between “flaking” and the arrest quotas which the NYPD has repeatedly denied exist, or referred to as “productivity goals”—Reichbach noted that several witnesses said narcotics officers were expected to make 60 percent of their arrests for felonies and that cops would spread collars around so they could all meet the quotas. He specifically pointed to the “mindset in Narcotics that seemingly embraces a cowboy culture where anything goes in the never-ending war on drugs.”
Kelly is a lifelong resident of Las Vegas, who’s been very active in local grassroots activism, as well as on a national level during his extensive travels. He’s also the founder/main contributor of Nevada Cop Block, served as editor/contributor at CopBlock.org and designed the Official Cop Block Press Passes.
____________________________________________________________________________
Connect with Kelly at these social networks; Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Yeah, you got caught, no time for tears now…
I would like to have seen the sentence guidelines. I would have assumed they could have gone for a higher sentence given the circumstance(s).
I know it will come back at election time.
Oh, please!
That cop should’ve been sentenced to the same amount of time his victims would have been forced to suffer due to his bullshit. Cops get off so easy. I understand his jail is a dangerous place for a cop, but why is that even when they murder innocent people they get off with a max of 1 or 2 years in prison.
I love how they still get preferential treatment even after being convicted of a crime.
They should have also been found guilty of “Violating the public trust” then spent the rest of their lives in prison or been publicly hanged the next day.
Really Judge? And if he hadn’t have been caught, and the lady had come in crying about mistakes she had made, etc, would you have sent her home with no jail?
At the absolute minimum, he should have been sentenced to a term equal to whatever the lady would have faced for the possession charge.
FUCK THE NYPD.
But cops are held to higher standards, right? It must be true because they keep telling us that!
City attorneys (D.A.s) are just as complicit as some judges in keeping these dirtbags on the street. They will reduce or drop charges for their black-uniformed buddies. Even if pressured to actually DO their job, they will not pursue watered-down charges against cops as tenaciously.
While I am not a fan of capital punishment, maybe the Chinese have the right idea: in cases of abuse of police authority or judicial/prosecutorial misconduct, give ’em a BBH (Bullet to the Back of the Head.)
I think he should have recieved a far harsher sentence as well (5 year min.)
The big boys club strikes again,or should I say big babies club.Judges see the the crying act every day,so do cops,its part of the job. I cant see a judge being lenient seeing somebody cry,especially a police officer,on trial for planting evidence. Think of how many other people were setup by this cop,that were crying, pleading to the judge and jury saying they are innocent,how their families are affected by this,as this cop(under oath) was on the witness stand,lying through his teeth,to get this person to do as much time in prison as possible. This is normal procedure for them. If it were true that all cops are as honest as they claim, dishonest cops wouldn’t have ANYONE to back their false claims.
Yet another absurd injustice. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
the cops son was suicidal for what his father did, so the judge gave the cop probation instead of jail, what about all the families of the falsley accused because of this scum cop, makes me sick, 99% of the time when a cop breaks the law they dont even get charged, they get a suspension with pay, and now the 1% of the time the cop actually gets dragged into court and charged the judge gives him no jail time, what a joke, to serve and protect not the public but each other, judges cops district attorneys, internal affairs investigating themselves, corruption at its finest
“Your Honour, I’m a little bitch with a badge that will be beaten mercilessly because I am crooked and I don’t want to be more of a bitch.” That’s pretty much what I read from this.