Two NYPD cops thought they had an open-and-shut case when they arrested a man on drug charges, claiming he had seven grams of cocaine in his waistband, which could easily have sent him to prison for several years.
But now they are the ones facing a prison sentence after a surveillance camera proved they made the charges up.
The two New York City police detectives, Kevin Desormeau and Sasha Cordoba, both 33, were indicted Tuesday by the Queens District Attorney after a grand jury found enough evidence that they committed perjury and wrote false reports.
The same two cops – one who is an award winner – were also arrested last month after it was revealed they fabricated charges on another man, which resulted in him remaining in jail for eight months.
Both incidents took place three years ago, so there’s no telling how many other innocent people they arrested over the years.
The first arrest took place on August 28, 2014 after the detectives claimed Roosevelt McCoy, 47, had been standing in front of a restaurant dealing drugs, but the surveillance video shows he was inside the restaurant the entire time playing pool.
The cops transported him to the station where they strip searched him but found nothing.
The video also shows Cordoba taking McCoy’s bag that contained $300, [__which ended up disappearing.__](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/cops-accused-lying-gun-case-charged-nyc-drug-bust-article-1.2975834)
McCoy ended up spending more than six weeks in Rikers Island before he was released.
According to the [__New York Daily News:__](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-detectives-indicted-story-behind-innocent-man-arrest-article-1.2990774)
> Charges against McCoy were ultimately dismissed in March 2016, when his attorney Gabriel Harvis showed the DA’s office a video surveillance feed from inside a restaurant that showed McCoy playing pool the entire time the detectives said he was outside selling drugs.
> The surveillance video also showed the two detectives enter the restaurant and bar while McCoy is playing pool and then escort him outside.
> “He was lucky,” Harvis said about the video surveillance that exonerated his client last month, which the Daily News exclusively reported. “But I can’t imagine how many New Yorkers were not so lucky and they are sitting in jail.”
McCoy sued and settled with the city in November for $575,500.
On November 6, 2014, the two cops arrested a man named Jamal Choice, accusing him of threatening another man with a gun, but that turned out to be a lie.
And again, it was surveillance video that exposed their lies, according to the [__New York Daily News.__](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-cops-accused-lying-search-warrant-grand-jury-article-1.2974872)
But Choice ended up spending eight months in Riker Island before he was released.
Cordoba’s attorney claimed they are not being treated fairly.
“These detectives are entitled to the same presumption of innocence that we all afforded,” James Moschella told the Daily News.
“They look forward to fighting the charges in court — not in the press — and, ultimately, being vindicated.”
The Daily News also reported that Desormeau was awarded the NYPD’s Combat Cross, one of the department’s highest honors, in 2011 for his role in a Queens gunfight.
But there is still no word on whether he fabricated that incident as well.
As of now, Desormeau is facing seven years in prison and Cordoba is facing four years.
The video that led to their indictment is not available online but below is a screen grab posted by the Daily News.
