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Title: State police pay $195K to man jailed over soap
Source:
The Morning Call
URL Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/ ... settlement-20160714-story.html
Published: Jul 20, 2016
Author: Peter Hall
Post Date: 2016-07-20 05:54:41 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 556
Comments: 10
Pennsylvania State Police paid $195,000 to settle a New York man's claims he was wrongly jailed for nearly a month after troopers using a field drug test mistook soap for cocaine, a court document obtained by The Morning Call shows. Alexander Bernstein of Brooklyn also settled claims in his federal lawsuit against Safariland LLC, the company that produced the allegedly faulty drug test that troopers used during the November 2013 traffic stop in Lehigh County when Bernstein and a traveling companion were arrested, his lawyer said. Attorney Joshua Karoly of Allentown said he could not discuss the terms of either settlement, except that the parties had reached mutually agreeable resolutions and agreed not to discuss them. The Morning Call obtained a copy of the state police settlement by requesting it under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. Bernstein's settlement with Safariland is not subject to the public records law. State police and Safariland did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. While Bernstein was behind bars, he lost his job, his apartment and his possessions, rendering him homeless and destitute, the lawsuit claimed. Bernstein's lawsuit was cited in a ProPublica investigation published July 7 in The New York Times Magazine as one of several around the country attacking the reliability of roadside chemical tests to identify drugs. The investigation noted that tests produced by manufacturers including Safariland are not regulated, are subject to user error and misinterpretation, and can produce false positives from dozens of chemicals other than illegal drugs, including medications and household cleaners. ProPublica estimated that at least 100,000 people across the country plead guilty each year to drug possession charges that are based solely on field tests. "At that volume, even the most modest of error rates could produce thousands of wrongful convictions," the investigation says. After being stopped by Pennsylvania troopers on Interstate 78 in South Whitehall Township, Bernstein and Anadel Cruz of New York were charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia. A search of their rented Mercedes-Benz revealed two brick-size packages covered in clear plastic and red tape, according to the police report. Cruz, who was the driver, told the troopers they contained homemade soap for her sister, whom Cruz was traveling to visit in Florida, it says. But the troopers — Nicholas Goldsmith and Justin Julius — insisted the packages, which together weighed more than 5 pounds, contained "a controlled substance of some kind," Bernstein's lawsuit claimed. The troopers said they also found a small amount of marijuana in Cruz's bra. Bernstein and Cruz were taken to a state police barracks where, Bernstein alleged, he overheard the troopers agree to a conspiracy in which they would falsely report negative field test results as positive. The lawsuit also contains an alternative theory alleging that Safariland's field test kit was defective because it produced two separate false positive results. California-based Safariland makes and sells firearms accessories, forensic investigation tools and safety equipment for police. Bernstein, 33, was held for 29 days in Lehigh County Prison under $500,000 bail until it was reduced and he was able to post $25,000. After Bernstein and Cruz were released on bail, on the day a preliminary hearing was scheduled, police dropped the charges. Bernstein was required to pay more than $32,000 in bail and court costs, plus pay a defense attorney and fees associated with having the arrest expunged from his record, the suit claimed. "And even then, the FBI, the internet and other media sources will still contain a permanent record of his arrest and the criminal charges upon which he was maliciously prosecuted," the suit claimed. After the charges were dismissed, Karoly and Allentown attorney Robert Goldman, who defended Cruz, called their arrests a clear case of racial profiling. They noted the troopers stopped a Hispanic woman driving a luxury car with out-of-state license plates late at night. The reasons troopers gave to justify the stop were specious, Goldman said. The affidavit of probable cause said Cruz was driving nearly 60 mph in a 55 mph zone and they saw her tires riding on a dividing line, he noted. "Hopefully law enforcement learns something from this episode, and hopefully prosecutors, that it isn't always what it appears," Goldman said.
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
So all he got was a $195K for losing everything? Something seems fishy to me. If he had lost everything and been jailed for months then he should have gotten more. This seems like a take it and go. Meaning he really isn't innocent. Because after you pay the lawyer he will have less than a $100k. Which for up north is petty cash.
I agree - he should have gotten at least a million. Meaning he really isn't innocent. Attaboy! Yeah - he was guilty alright. Guilty of possessing soap. Attaboy! Yeah - he was guilty alright. Guilty of possessing soap. You know what it means. If he had any kinda lawyer he would have come up with at least $500k. What he got is a get out here because someone in the chain of evidence messed up the evidence so we can not prosecute. Attaboy protecting the criminals, again? (See I can use attaboy too! 8))
Hmmmm. So we have an Hispanic woman driving a rented luxury car from New York to Miami, with out-of-state license plates, late at night. They pull her over for a minor traffic violation and find two brick-size packages containing a white powder and covered in clear plastic and red tape. Where's the reasonable suspicion? They should have simply let her go and said "Hasta la vista".
Something sure doesn't make sense about this. Seems like they were going to try and sell fake cocaine to some unsuspecting rube. They are probably lucky they didn't get their throats cut. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Who in the hell makes homemade powdered soap?
...and packages it in bricks. Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Ill poke around and chat with some pa LE contacts. I bet I can dig up the missing pieces.
I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
I went to the Hertz rental page and found this: Mercedes-Benz S550 She rented a Mercedes-Benz in New York with the intent of driving to Florida to visit her sister. 1200 miles. Say a two-week trip as a conservative estimate. That comes to around $6,000 for the rental -- plus gas -- to deliver homemade soap. Stinks to high heaven.
Though we do know everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it's still important to be able to look for, identify and investigate all suspicious behavior. If we don't, we'll be up to our necks in anarchist shit. Decktard mistakes an officers willingness and desire to thwart illegal behavior with intentional corruption. It's his yella Schtick. His anti drug war agenda. I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
While Bernstein was behind bars, he lost his job, his apartment and his possessions, rendering him homeless and destitute, the lawsuit claimed
#2. To: Justified (#1)
If he had lost everything and been jailed for months then he should have gotten more.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards."
#3. To: Deckard (#2)
Meaning he really isn't innocent.
#4. To: Deckard (#0)
"A search of their rented Mercedes-Benz revealed two brick-size packages covered in clear plastic and red tape, according to the police report. Cruz, who was the driver, told the troopers they contained homemade soap for her sister, whom Cruz was traveling to visit in Florida, it says."
#5. To: misterwhite (#4)
A search of their rented Mercedes-Benz revealed two brick-size packages covered in clear plastic and red tape, according to the police report. Cruz, who was the driver, told the troopers they contained homemade soap for her sister, whom Cruz was traveling to visit in Florida, it says.
#6. To: no gnu taxes (#5)
"told the troopers they contained homemade soap for her sister"
#7. To: misterwhite (#6)
Who in the hell makes homemade powdered soap?
#8. To: misterwhite (#6)
#9. To: GrandIsland (#8)
Starting at $400.00 per day.
Rental Includes 75 miles per day, $0.75 per mile thereafter.
#10. To: misterwhite (#9)
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