An NYPD officer accidentally shot a woman in the neighboring Brooklyn apartment where a raid was going on early this morning. The officer was participating in a drug raid in a third floor apartment at 3003 Clarendon Road when he accidentally fired his weapon just before 8 a.m, shooting a 25-year-old woman in the apartment below. more ›

NYPD Officer Richard Haste fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Ramarley Graham last month in his family's Williamsbridge home, and his colleague tells the Daily News that while he feels remorse, he also thought Graham was armed. "He didn't want the kid to die. He feels bad. But it happened very fast," the colleague said. "He thought he was carrying, that's why he did what he did. He had a split second to react." more ›

After pushing for tighter restrictions of prescribed narcotics and attempting to block a "super painkiller" ten times more powerful than Vicoden, Senator Chuck Schumer wants to allocate $140 million in federal funding towards developing a test that would catch drivers who are under the influence of drugs. "If people next year knew they'd be tested for drugged driving just like they are tested for drunk driving, it might deter them from doing it to begin with and save lives," Schumer told the AP. more ›

A 19-year-old Bronx woman was caught on her way back to New York from Jamaica for allegedly trying to smuggle three pounds of cocaine in her shoes. It doesn't quite compare to this, but still, the blow doesn't look like it was stashed there on accident. more ›

On Thursday, the NYPD allegedly sent out a directive ordering narcotics officers to make no arrests based on drug transactions that they witnessed, unless an undercover officer was present. According to the Post, this message "stunned drug cops," with once source saying, "They were told point-blank they couldn't make observation arrests without their undercovers." But it turns out it was all a big misunderstanding. Sheesh, haven't any of you cops played telephone? more ›

The Brooklyn South narcotics detective accused of planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend was found guilty yesterday. Jason Arbeeny, a 14-year NYPD veteran, was guilty of eight counts of falsifying records and official misconduct for planting drugs on innocent suspects in order to reach quotas. more ›

While people seem to be understandably interested in the violent arrests made by the NYPD during the Occupy Wall Street protests, lets not forget about the widespread practice of planting drugs on innocent suspects! "Flaking," as it's called, has reportedly cost the city $1.2 million to settle cases of false arrests. The Daily News reports that the settlements range from $15,000 to $300,000, not to mention the untold amounts of time and money wasted on prosecuting false cases. But hey, crime's down! more ›

A former NYPD Detective testified last week that he regularly saw police plant drugs on innocent people as a way to meet arrest quotas. Ex-Detective Stephen Anderson, who worked in the Queens and Brooklyn South narcotics divisions, was called to testify in the trial of Brooklyn South narcotics Detective Jason Arbeeny, who has been charged with falsifying public documents and business records. Mister Anderson's testimony was intended to reveal that, as the Daily News puts it, cop corruption wasn't limited to a single squad. In fact, it's pretty widespread! more ›

Through rain, snow, sleet—but especially snow—a Queens mailman delivered the mail and a couple kilos of coke, prosecutors announced yesterday. 49-year-old Felix Soto, who resides in the Bronx, faces up to twenty years in prison on charges of selling a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy. "The defendant is accused of delivering more than just the mail while carrying out his duties as a U.S. mail carrier," Queens DA Paul Brown said in a statement. more ›

It was initially reported in December that a woman busted for drug possession was suing the city because an unidentified narcotics detective had photographed her with his cell phone during repeated strip searches. Now 17 other women have come forward and accused the cop of strip-searching them. (NYPD policy prohibits officers from conducting strip searches on prisoners of the opposite sex.) The accused officer has also been identified: His name is Charles Derosalia, a Long Island resident who works with the Brooklyn South narcotics team. The Daily News has a great photo of him outside his house. more ›

A Manhattan pharmacist might need to prescribe something for himself after he "somehow" neglected to keep track of 20,000 doses of painkillers. Thomas Farkas, who runs the Anatole Pharmacy on the east side, is facing criminal prosecution for losing track of a huge amount of narcotics. Farkas claims he was robbed in 2006, but never reported the break-in to the DEA. more ›

An off-duty cop is facing DWI charges after he crashed his vehicle into a parked car last night in Woodside, Queens. Officer Matthew Woods—who is assigned to the narcotics bureau—was under the influence when he lost control of his car on 65th Place between Woodside Avenue and Queens Boulevard, a police spokesman told the Daily News. There were no injuries in the crash, and if history is any indication, he'll likely be able to plead down to lesser charges. more ›

Cops broke up a major drug ring and arrested fifty suspected dealers operating out of a Far Rockaway housing project. After making 174 undercover purchases in six months, police raided the Hammel Houses, the Post reports. According to the Daily News, officers cuffed 45 suspects including members of the Bloods, Crips, and Money Over Bitches gangs. Police seized 41 bags of crack, 230 bags of marijuana, and smaller amounts of heroin and Oxycontin. Ten of the suspects had been arrested in a bust two years ago, and police continue to search for 13 other suspects. Queens Narcotics Capt. Thomas Marren says cops will pay close attention to the nearby Carleton Manor housing project so the dealers can't easily relocate. more ›

Police arrested seven members of the Latin Kings gang accused of stashing heroin and cocaine in the airbag compartments of their cars while they smuggled the drugs into Brooklyn. Before driving across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the suspects purportedly hid the narcotics in "hydraulic trapdoors that were rigged to open when the driver pushed a series of buttons on the dashboard panel in a set order," the Staten Island Advance reports. After an 18-month investigation — which involved undercover drug drug purchases and electronic and visual surveillance — prosecutors alleged that 27-year-old ringleader Jose Arroyave repeatedly sold glassine bags of heroin and $4,000 of cocaine to an informant. An additional suspect has reportedly fled to Puerto Rico. more ›

Two police officers were wounded by gunfire last night when a third officer opened fire while chasing a drug suspect. The injured officers were part of a group providing backup for an undercover narcotics unit investigating drug activity near Fordham Road in the Bronx. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says a group of eight men approached the plainclothes officers in a "confrontational manner," and when the car with backup pulled up, the suspects scattered. Three of the officers chased one perp into an apartment building, at which point a pit bull leaped out of a basement apartment at the end of a narrow alley. more ›

The narcotics officer who lost his leg below the knee after getting pinned by a crashed car got a much-needed boost from a fellow NYPD amputee. Officer Eric Grimes was leading drug suspects into a police van in Brooklyn on Tuesday when two cars collided and jumped the curb, crushing his lower left leg and foot. When he awoke from surgery at Kings County Hospital later that night, a surprise visitor was waiting for him: Officer Rachid Elkadi, whose right leg was amputated below the knee in May 2006 after an off-duty motorcycle accident. Elkadi spent an hour with Grimes to show him that his amputation didn't have to be a career ender; Elkadi himself returned to work a year after his accident. Now a "field intelligence officer" in Queens, Elkadi spoke with the Daily News about his bedside visit: "[Grimes] let out a sigh of relief and said, 'You are a breath of fresh air. I needed to see you.' He asked me how my life has changed. I said, 'You are not limited to anything.'" more ›

Police broke up an Upper East Side heroin distribution center this week, located in the rarefied real estate of 75th St. between 2nd and 3rd Aves. Neighbors seemed shocked after police broke down the door of apartment 2B at 242 East 75th, a street unfamiliar with narcotics unit raids. One said, "I was leaving my apartment [and there was a] battering ram and there were cops, so I asked some questions and I found out what has happened. You don't know who your neighbors are in this city. You just never know." more ›

An ongoing investigation of corruption and illegal practices in the Brooklyn South Narcotics Unit could jeopardize dozens, if not hundreds, of successful prosecutions of drug dealers. The possibility has arisen days after a sergeant and a detective were arrested for paying an informant with drugs and cash that they themselves had robbed from the addict. Another sergeant in the unit was also arrested for using NYPD resources to investigate the vehicle IDs of a drug dealer's suspected rivals. more ›

Stereo, the scene where just two days ago Brione Schneider was shot and killed, is now closed. Sorry clubland kids! The Daily News reports that last night "a police van and five unmarked cars rolled onto W.29th St. at 9 p.m., did a 30-minute sweep of the open but empty nightspot, posted the closing notice and bolted the club's doors." WABC was also on the scene, and has a video of their report here. more ›