A 16-year NYPD veteran was in the hot seat Wednesday, accused of lying to a grand jury about a Manhattan drug bust in 2009, nixing the prosecution of the two men who were arrested.
Det. Said Salim, who works in the firearms unit, was hit with perjury charges after he falsely testified twice that he stopped Jose Martinez and Wayne Davis on July 13, 2009 on 144th St. and Bradhurst Ave. because he believed Davis was a confidential informant, prosecutors said.
The cop testified before a grand jury on July 17, 2009 that when he realized Davis was not the informant, he told the two men to leave the area and saw them pass a gym bag.
“My partner and I exit the vehicle, and at which time, I observed Martinez drop the bag … I looked at Wayne Davis and I look at my partner and informed my partner that that’s not our confidential informant,” Salim testified, according to the indictment.
Salim, 43, then searched the bag, which contained two kilograms of cocaine, when both men denied ownership. He then arrested them on drug possession charges, according to court papers. Salim denied ever patting down the two men, according to his testimony.
Prosecutors allege the detective arrested Davis and Martinez without probable cause.
“There is a video from a neighboring apartment building that captured the arrest,” said prosecutor Ryan Connors. “[Witnesses] indicate that [Salim] arrested both men, stopped and frisked them and then searched the bag.”
Charges against Davis and Martinez were dropped as a result of Salim’s alleged false testimony before the grand jury, as well as at a suppression hearing in September 2010, prosecutors said.
Salim, who pleaded not guilty to perjury, official misconduct and other related charges Wednesday at his Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment, was released without bail and returns to court June 3.
“I didn’t know anything about a video. My testimony was accurate. I may have been mistaken about the timing of when I patted them down. I didn’t want to tip off the person who was with the [confidential informant],” Salim told prosecutors following his arrest Wednesday morning, according to court papers.
Dozens of NYPD cops packed the courtroom in support of Salim.
Defense attorney Mark Bederow called the charges against his client “unfortunate” and noted that prosecutors waited nearly five years to press charges.
“They’re literally two months within the statute [of limitations],” he said. “This case will be vigorously contested.”