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NEW: In secret recordings, cops in Mount Vernon, NY describe assaults of civilians in cells + illegal strip searches. Residents gave us video of the accused cops conducting humiliating strip searches in an apartment—breaking police rules 
[CW: graphic]
https://gothamist.com/news/mount-vernon-police-tapes-secretly-recorded-calls-officers-allege-beatings-custody-and-illegal-strip-searches
[CW: graphic]https://gothamist.com/news/mount-vernon-police-tapes-secretly-recorded-calls-officers-allege-beatings-custody-and-illegal-strip-searches
2/ The accused officers worked for years in Mount Vernon’s narcotics unit + are still active. Some have been accused of sexual violence +brutality multiple times. Here’s a recording of a cop describing his colleague assaulting an elderly man in handcuffs. His sergeant denies this
3/ Here’s another officer alleging that he witnessed the same colleague assaulting a civilian in a cell at the police station. He claims when he reported the colleague for abuse, police supervisors refused to investigate + suggested he transfer units:
4/ The secret recordings were made by a police whistleblower named Murashea Bovell. Our previous investigations into his tapes have also unearthed allegations of narcotics officers framing civilians several times…. https://gothamist.com/news/mount-vernon-police-tapes-innocent-people-were-framed
5/ … And allegations of police teaming up with drug dealers to rack up low-level arrests of users. In our previous story, one officer described safeguarding a crack stash for a favored dealer with a lengthy domestic violence record: https://gothamist.com/news/mount-vernon-police-tapes-officer-says-some-drug-dealers-operate-with-free-reign
6/ This story is different though. Beyond the recordings, residents gave us video of some of the accused officers breaking department rules by conducting disturbing strip searches + anal inspections in an apartment. This is not an isolated incident in Mount Vernon:
7/ @MtVernonPolice sources told us these officers could be fired for these actions. Residents have accused one particular detective in these videos of violent sexual abuse during strip searches multiple times.
8/ In response to our story, the @MtVernonPolice comissioner said he has directed Internal Affairs to review this footage. He also said for the 1st time ever that multiple former narcotics officers are under active investigation following our months of reporting.
9/ Nationwide, specialized police units like this have been accused of routinely violating civil rights/police rules to rack up arrests—while supervisors, happy with the numbers, have been willing to look the other way:
10/ In Baltimore, an elite gun got accolades for arrest productivity while robbing civilians for years. As we’ve reported, one Mount Vernon detective with 500+ career arrests has been accused by civilians + a fellow officer of stealing multiple times: https://gothamist.com/news/corruption-and-brutality-allegations-against-mount-vernon-detective-are-echoed-civilian-complaints
11/ Years of car jump outs, public frisks, + invasive searches have left many Mount Vernon residents resentful of the force, especially plainclothes detectives. We see this across the country, but again I’m going to point to Baltimore CC @justin_fenton https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/cops-and-robbers-part-i-rise-wayne-jenkins
12/ Last year, the whistleblower gave some of this tales to the @WestchesterDA to investigate. But they kept prosecuting residents using these officers’ sworn word without disclosing the tapes. So he gave us the tapes to investigate: https://www.wnyc.org/story/mount-vernon-tapes-secretly-recorded-phone-calls-police-officers-say-innocent-people-were-framed-part-two
13/ In June, we published our 1st stories on the tapes, which became the major issue in the DA’s dem primary. @Mimirocah1 resoundingly defeated the incumbent + has promised to investigate in her first 100 days if elected: https://gothamist.com/news/incumbent-westchester-county-da-loses-seat-after-fallout-mount-vernon-police-tapes
14/ In the meantime public defenders in Westchester County have formally asked @NYGovCuomo to direct AG @TishJames to investigate the allegations. The defenders say Gov Cuomo has given them “no response whatsoever.”
15/ Federal prosecutors at SDNY also reached out to the police whistleblower in June, following the first stories on the tapes.
16/ Mount Vernon’s police commissioner, appointed this year, acknowledges that he needs outside help. He says he has put local narcotics work on pause given the issues plaguing his department:
17/ We have been reporting on this since last November and we will continue to do so... More to come.
