The city’s first defense witness in a high-profile federal stop-and-frisk trial said yesterday that police officers are trained to look for suspicious behavior before conducting a weapons search.
Deputy Chief James Shea was, until October, the commanding officer of the department’s Police Academy, where cadets get their first lessons about what to look for on the street.
He said cops are trained to stop and frisk only when they have a good reason to.
“You need more than just a suspicious bulge,” Shea told jurors in Manhattan federal court. “Every sort of movement could have an innocent explanation.”
A bulge under a jacket could be as innocent as a construction tool or a thick wallet, Shea said. If that bulge is accompanied by suspicious behavior or a report of a crime in the area, cops have more reason to move in, he said.
Asked to explain, Shea said a person might be stopped and frisked if he is wearing a heavy coat on a warm day, turns away abruptly at the sight of a cop, or stands in a way that shields part of his body.
One frequent tipoff to the presence of a weapon, Shea said, is where a person places his hands.
“People will touch where they keep their gun,” Shea said. “Most criminals don’t have the benefit of a holster, so they tend to touch where their gun is to safeguard it.”
Several years ago, Shea was involved in a federal investigation into government leaks in high-profile terror cases.
Shea, who is currently assigned to the NYPD’s anti gang initiative, was the head of the Joint [FBI-NYPD] Terrorism Task Force in 2011 when he refused an order to provide sensitive information to his NYPD superiors.
Shea was later transferred to the police academy.