Man Who Had Hand In Pocket Tells Story At Stop-And-Frisk Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Another story of an innocent man being searched was told Wednesday at the stop-and-frisk trial in Manhattan federal court.
A man named Cornelio McDonald testified that he was leaving his mother's apartment in Jamaica, Queens in December of 2009 when a red van pulled up and the driver asked him where he was coming from.
He said he asked "Why are you stopping me?"
"Oh, so you're a wise guy," he said one of the two plain clothes cops said as they got out of the van and searched him.
Man Who Had Hand In Pocket Tells Story At Stop-And-Frisk Trial
McDonald said he felt he was stopped because he's black. He felt nervous and ashamed, he said, because he didnt do anything wrong.
Detective Edward French, who stopped him, testified that he was patrolling housing projects and aware of robbery patterns in the area.
He said he saw McDonald with his hand in his pocket and suspected he had a gun. The search turned up nothing but McDonald's cell phone and keys.
