The detective reportedly gave conflicting testimony that led to a case against and accused drug dealer being dropped.
Credit: Metro File Photo
An NYPD detective was arrested Tuesday and charged with perjury for giving false testimony against an accused East Harlem drug dealer.
Detective Abel Joseph, 39, was indicted in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday for committing perjury in his grand jury testimony and later changing the details of his sworn testimony in a suppression hearing.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. fumed over the way the detective “wasted the time and resources of prosecutors, the court and a grand jury.” Vance blamed the detective for his office’s entire criminal case against an accused drug dealer being dismissed.
According to court documents, Joseph arrested a man in 2010 for selling PCP in East Harlem. He told an assistant district attorney that he and his team were never able to find the buyers, and never lost sight of the seller. Joseph said the same when he testified before a grand jury that same year.
But in a suppression hearing the following year, Joseph said he had stopped the buyers, searched them, found no PCP and released them. He also said he lost sight of the seller before arresting him.
Because of Joseph’s conflicting testimonies, the charges against the accused dealer were dropped.
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