Yusef Salaam, a member of the City Council and the “Central Park Five,” was pulled over by the NYPD for breaking the law, treated politely, then let go because he was on official business.
Now Salaam and other members of the Council are using the incident as an excuse to support a bill that would punish cops and make New Yorkers less safe.
To be absolutely clear: The NYPD officer did nothing wrong in his interaction with Salaam.
The council member was driving a car with Georgia plates and windows that were tinted beyond what is legally allowed.
You can watch the whole interaction on the body camera footage the NYPD released. The officer asks the driver to please roll down his back window as he approaches the vehicle.
Why? Because Detective Russel Timoshenko was shot and killed through tinted windows in 2007.
Central Park Five member Yusef Salaam’s traffic stunt jeopardizes public safety
The officer immediately identifies himself, at which point Salaam says he’s a member of the City Council. “Oh, OK, have a good one,” the cop responds. Because he’s showing respect to a city politician on official business.