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New York Post
Aspiring actor cleared of drug charges after NY cop’s own bodycam appears to show him plant evidence: ‘Who would’ve believed me?’
By Steve Janoski,
3 hours ago
Drug charges were thrown out against an aspiring actor after a decorated New Rochelle police lieutenant was caught on his own bodycam appearing to plant evidence, a report said.
Alvin Harper, who now lives in Denver, pilloried Lt. Sean Kane in court Friday shortly after a New Rochelle city judge dismissed the case at the request of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, according to the Journal News.
“I feel defeated — before Officer Kane planted those drugs on me I was a very upbeat, happy person,” said Harper, 45, who is also a celebrity fitness trainer.
Alvin Harper, a celebrity fitness trainer who lives in Denver, was cleared of drug possession charges after a New Rochelle cop appeared to get caught on his own boydcam planting drugs. New Rochelle City Court
“I’m just a mere shell of myself,” he continued. “I can’t sleep at night. This has destroyed me. What if I would have never had this video? Who would’ve believed me?”
Harper was arrested May 29 after cops approached his Cadillac Escalade outside the Bracey Houses on Main Street because it had been detailed in an outdated stolen car report out of Mount Vernon, the newspaper reported.
Harper had filed the report himself, claiming at the time that a family member had made off with the truck without his permission but he had gotten the SUV back at some point.
That night, Harper had taken off running as soon as Kane rolled up and got out of his cruiser, the officer’s bodycam footage showed, according to the outlet.
Kane reportedly chased him into a parking garage across the street — but then Kane’s bodycam recording cut to him driving with a small baggie in his right hand.
The cop pulled back into the Bracey Houses, where the Cadillac was parked, then hit the bodycam again to restart the audio — but he may not have known that the video was already recording, the Journal News said.
Harper was arrested in July and charged with two counts of possession. New Rochelle City Court
The lieutenant got out of his cruiser, walked up to a parked minivan and reached under the front driver’s side tire in what looked like an attempt to grab something, the report said.
Then he got back in his car and radioed in that felony drug charges were necessary, according to the outlet.
Harper left the area after the chase. But he eventually came back, and was arrested when he went to police headquarters July 10.
The cops — who claimed they had found crack and cocaine — charged him with third-and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
The criminal complaint reportedly claimed Harper threw a plastic bag under a parked car, and that Kane picked it up.
And in a separate report, Officer Maria Vasquez wrote that Kane watched Harper toss the bag, according to the report.
But the footage torpedoed this description of events — when Harper was by the van, Kane was still in another lot and wouldn’t have been able to see him throw anything, the Journal News said.
Harper, originally from New Rochelle, says the arrest may have already irreparably damaged his career. New Rochelle City Court
Harper believes he was targeted because he had a pending notice of claim against New Rochelle for false arrest after he was picked up for drug possession last year, according to the report.
Prosecutors dropped the charges in that case earlier this year but Harper said he believes the cops didn’t forget about the clash.
The New Rochelle Police Department declined to comment Tuesday.
After the May arrest, Harper filed a complaint with the New Rochelle cops that alleged they had planted the drugs.
Kane was reportedly suspended about two weeks later, and the whole case was sent to the Westchester County DA’s office.
A DA spokesperson said in a Tuesday email that the office was investigating the matter, but did not comment further.
In court Friday, Harper told the judge that he had appeared in the Amazon Prime movie “Shadows” this year — and he expected to get more work from the next few installments.
But he lost the job after his arrest — “They canned me, I’m done because I’m a drug dealer in their eyes,” he said.
Legal Aid lawyer Sydney Stanley said the alleged police misconduct justified the dismissal.
“The right outcome was reached, but there are still real human costs,” Stanley told the judge, according to the Journal News.
“This is not harmless that I have a person standing to my left whose life was negatively affected by the bringing of criminal charges,” Stanley said.
“Even though this case is dismissed, the ramifications can’t be dismissed or taken back.”
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