A man who was once celebrated as 2012’s “Cop of the Year” in the Northeast has been arrested on cocaine trafficking charges in Florida. According to the police who took him into custody, the 28-year-old man was trying to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine. Either the drug trafficking charge is not true, or this man has made a radical shift in his behavior in recent years.
The arrest took place in Sunrise City, late on Monday. In addition to the accused police officer, two additional men were taken into custody during the arrest. According to an unnamed source from the Sunrise City Police, the former cop of the year was arrested as part of a drug sting operation. The sting involved undercover police officers who were pretending to sell inexpensive cocaine.
When the 28-year-old accused man received his 2012 cop of the year award, he had been chosen out of a pool of over 100 fellow officers. According to his police commissioner at the time, the man had made over 24 arrests in 2012, mainly for crimes like gun possession and robbery. In his own arrest, the man was charged with cocaine trafficking, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and weapons violations. As of last reports, his bail had been set at $250,000.
A Florida drug trafficking conviction could mean many years behind bars. However, the accused man in this case may have viable criminal defense options available to him — depending on the facts and evidence surrounding his arrest. Regardless of how strong the evidence is against him, though, he may benefit from the assistance of a private criminal defense attorney in the defense of his Florida case.
Source: USA Today, “Ex-NYC ‘Cop of the Year’ arrested in drug sting“, John Bacon, Dec. 3, 2014
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