Detective Accused Of Stealing Nearly $3,000 From Brooklyn Bodega
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn narcotics detective accused of pocketing $2,650 cash during a raid on a Brooklyn deli has been suspended without pay.
The incident took place at Yemen Deli & Grocery at Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Halsey Place last Friday, according to police.
NYPD Detective Ian Cyrus, 49, was participating in a raid looking into the sale of untaxed cigarettes known as "loosies," CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
Surveillance video allegedly showed Cyrus shoving the cash right into his pocket during the raid, CBS2's Valerie Castro reported.
"He stole the money. He put it in his pocket. That's when I got shocked. I called 911 said 'I've been robbed.' (I) called the 29th Precinct, even left a message for the sergeant," deli manager Ali Abdullah said.
The video shows man in a ski hat taking cash from a cigar box under the counter. He conceals the money from the other plainclothes cops, squats down, goes behind a cabinet door and puts the money in a black plastic bag.
He then pulls up another black plastic bag so the other cops can't see, at which point he puts the cash in his left pocket. He's clearly nervous and fumbles several times, Kramer reported.
"There was nothing there," Abdullah said when asked about what he saw when he checked the cigar box. "There was nothing there. There was nothing."
The deli owner told Kramer the cash allegedly taken by the cop was his rent money, adding it took him more than a month to save it all.
At Cyrus' home Thursday evening, his wife would not come to the door.
A neighbor said he only knows Cyrus in passing, but said it is hard to believe the allegation could be true.
When asked if the allegation surprised him, the neighbor said, "I have no idea; it probably would."
Abdullah said he hopes the detective is held accountable.
"He's a cop. But I don't know how he going to get away with it," Abdullah said. "I don't think he's going to get away with it."
The incident is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Division and District Attorney's office.
Cyrus has been with the NYPD since 2003. His supervisor, Sgt. Fritz Glemaud, was placed on modified duty.