I kinda agree,it was the tatt's not the chain.

This guy has full sleeve tattoos and probably looks like a badass to the cops. My chef Ex looks the same and was sometimes harassed by cops out of nowhere. I wouldn't know if approached him for the way he looks, but I've seen it happen a bunch of times before. Cops do pick on certain types, and they pick them out in accordance w/their own prejudices. Chefs sometimes have a little chef swagger, or attitude, or whatnot to them. This might trigger the knee-jerk macho inside cops to rise up and react more strongly to them. And yes, most chefs carry some type of knife.

"My mother gives me a knife every year on my birthday. This knife is the one she got me this year."

What a little bitch. If she was still alive, Julia Child would seriously cut him.

My brother was recently arrested for carrying a "Gravity knife" whihc was in fact a 3" folding knife that is sold in stores in New York City. When it became clear that he wasn't going to take a plea and would fight the case (he had all kinds of documentary evidence, statement from the manufacturer, etc.) the prosecutor dropped the case. His legal aid attorney told him that she had 3 other similar cases involving black people that were not getting dropped. I guess they did not want to establish a precedent that they can't make up the law as they go along.

For the record, the law states that if you carry a folding knife that has a blade over 3" or is able to be opened using gravity or centrifugal force then you are guilty of misdemeanor weapons possession.

Get yourself a leatherman type tool.

"For the record, the law states that if you carry a folding knife that has a blade over 3" "

4", according to this site:

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/ADC/10/1/10-133

this was one with a replaceable razor blade in it. they also told me it was a gravity knife, although it clearly was not.

98% percent of all cases end in pleas,

DA's like #'s not work, the magic in nyc is the DA's plea anything without considering legality or truthiness of the charges and my guess is most of those people who plea accept any deal without consideration of the case just to get it over with.

i met a guy doing community service who got a ticket for walking down the street with no shirt on...amzingly he went to court and accepted a one day cs deal....hahha

they do this a lot. 3 years ago, i was walking down 36th st near 8th ave. when two plainclothes pulled up in an unmarked car painted like a taxicab. they told me i had an illegal knife (how they could tell this from their cab i have no idea), put me against a wall, searched my bag, and found a home depot box cutter clipped inside my pocket. i had just walked out of a job as a grip on a film set, and only had tools on me. these two fat, tattooed plainclothes then laughed when i asked if they could have a uniformed officer make the arrest, and took me to a different precinct than i was arrested in. i was pretty sure i was getting kidnapped. anyway, spent 18 hours in jail, then when i came back for my court date, got an acd. what a huge waste of my time and money. it's a strange feeling to know that just doing nothing illegal isnt always enough to keep you out of jail.

NYC cops displaying as much sense as a TSA goon? Not a good sign.

The 9th Precinct....where starboy Lt. Corcoran of bike-cutting and false arrest fame resides. Anyone shocked?

I'm glad the NYPD is helping protect us from Chefs everywhere!

"Since the man who allegedly stabbed two men to death on the No. 2 train last week reportedly wielded a kitchen knife"

Just to attempt to roll back that inaccurate rumor: Darrel Morel's mother, speaking to a reporter, referred to it as a kitchen knife. No actual witness said that, not did police. The knife now has been recovered because the suspect told police where he'd put it.

It was, in fact, a folding knife.

Typo correction: "nor did police..."

"read it again:

Cops approached Appleman because they spotted a chain running from his belt into a pocket"

But this time, read what it should say: "Appleman claims that cops approached him because they spotted a chain running from his belt into a pocket"

In court, what will the cop's version of that be?

It's very unlikely that they stopped him simply because of a chain running from his belt into a pocket. If they were doing that, they'd be stopping thousands of people every day who have wallet chains.

what will the cops version be, lets see,

cops should explain if they are reaching the end of their shift and need overtime, these petty arrests shoudl be thrown out because the time it takes to ticket or process people at the end of your shift means OVERTIME. once in a while they forget that only minorities and homeless accept this treatment. but they get so desperate for an overtime payday that they make a mistake. what will the cops version be....hmmm.

they have days and hours writing up a boilerplate signed lying testimony that will of course never say i saw a chain, it will say i saw him brandish the knife, play with it causing alarm to passerbyes etc etc.....

luckily the da now against the blogosphere will drop the charges or offer an ACD and mister chef has a nice story to tell and prob even thank the nypd for keeping us safe as part of his plea bargain...

BS,,,this is not justification or probable cause for any search,

Cops approached Appleman because they spotted a chain running from his belt into a pocket

he could have had yellowcake uranium in his pocket,

the search was illegal, results of the search are inadmissable...

read it again:

Cops approached Appleman because they spotted a chain running from his belt into a pocket

Hate to break it to you, but you are wrong...

tell me why i am wrong,

Even if we take the statement "Cops approached Appleman because they spotted a chain running from his belt into a pocket" at face value, and assume its true (which it might not be, we don't have the cops side of the story), it still does not make the search illegal (or the results inadmissable). Here's why:

The cop, using his training, knows that knives and other weapons are sometimes carried in this fashion. This gives the officer reasonable suspicion. Upon stopping the guy, a quick frisk (just a tap, outside the clothing) of the area is done. When a hard object, which could be a weapon is felt, the officer now gets a search (of that area only). He reaches in, pulls out the knife, and makes the arrest. None of that violates any search and seizure laws, and is NOT illegal. The evidence is good to go in court.

the stupidity...in writing

The cop, using his training, knows that knives and other weapons are sometimes carried in this fashion.

youre now capt stoopid.

while i never fell for or felt the need to chain my wallet keys guns or knives to my belt that statement makes me think you smoke too much pot.

using your training would mean your experience and judgement would override your training, since 99.999% of any search based on the assumtion that a chain running from belt to pocket would yeild a wallet, keys or fobs.

"using your training would mean your experience and judgement would override your training."

So why even have training then, if you just want cops to override it. Besides, weren't they right in this case? A weapon was found, right.

"since 99.999% of any search based on the assumtion that a chain running from belt to pocket would yeild a wallet, keys or fobs."

Probably so, but thats why, when feeling a wallet, keys, or anything else during the frisk, it would stop there. And the person would be sent on their way.