DA VANCE ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF NYPD DETECTIVE FOR LYING UNDER OATH ABOUT DRUG ARRESTS
Yesterday, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the indictment of SAID SALIM, 42, a firearms detective with the NYPD, for lying under oath on multiple occasions about the circumstances surrounding his arrest of two individuals without probable cause. SALIM is charged with Perjury in the First Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, Making a Punishable False Written Statement, and Official Misconduct.
“Dishonesty from a member of the law enforcement community is detrimental, not only to the rights of defendants, but to the reputation of all law enforcement in the communities we serve,” said District Attorney Vance. “Judges, juries, and the accused rely on truth to determine the outcome of a given case. The fair administration of justice depends on honest testimony. The Public Corruption Unit in my office will continue to aggressively pursue those who violate their oaths.”
According to the indictment and statements made on the record in court, on July 13, 2009, SALIM arrested two men in Northern Manhattan for possessing a duffel bag containing more than two kilograms of cocaine. SALIM later testified under oath before a grand jury and at a suppression hearing in New York State Supreme Court that he stopped the men because one of them looked like a confidential informant. SALIM testified on multiple occasions that, after realizing that one of the men was not the confidential informant, he told them to leave the area and take their duffle bag with them. He further testified that after each man denied the bag was his, SALIM searched the bag and found two bricks of cocaine.
As stated in the indictment, further investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau revealed that SALIM stopped and arrested the two men without probable cause before unlawfully searching the duffel bag in which he discovered the cocaine. As a result of SALIM’s false testimony, the drug possession case against the two individuals he arrested was dismissed.
Since 2010, the Manhattan DA’s Office has charged four police officers for perjury and four police officers for falsifying paperwork.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan Connors, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Julio Cuevas, Jr., Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, Assistant District Attorney Luke Rettler, Chief of the Public Corruption Unit, and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Senior Investigative Analyst Kristen Arditi assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Vance thanked the Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD for its assistance in the investigation.
[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Information:
SAID SALIM, D.O.B. 8/22/1971
Orange County, NY
Charges:
• Perjury in the First Degree, a class D felony, 2 counts
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony, 1 count
• Making a Punishable False Written Statement, a class A misdemeanor, 1 count
• Official Misconduct, a class A misdemeanor, 1 count