NYPD Body Cam Video Shows Traffic Stop of Councilmember Yusef Salaam

The New York Police Department has released body cam video showing an officer pulling over Councilmember Yusef Salaam.

Salaam is raising questions about the encounter

“The New York City Police Department is releasing the following statement after an officer conducted a legal and professional stop of New York City Councilmember Yusef Salaam’s vehicle in the 26th precinct yesterday,” the NYPD wrote in a January 27 statement posted to the department’s X page.

The NYPD acted swiftly to release the vehicle report filed by the officer, as well as police body cam video of the encounter, which you can watch later in this story.

Salaam, the Council’s public safety chair, was wrongfully imprisoned as a teenager in the notorious Central Park jogger case; he and the other teens implicated were later exonerated after DNA implicated another man, according to The Innocence Project.

Here’s what you need to know:

The NYPD Released Police Body Cam Video of the Short Interaction Between Yusef Salaam & the Officer

Police released the body cam video of the short interaction between Salaam and the officer.

“Can you roll your back window please,” the officer said as he walked up to Salaam's car. The windows appear tinted.

“Oh okay, have a good one. You’re working, right? Take care sir,” the officer said when he learned that the driver was Salaam.

The interaction was very short.

The Police Benevolent Association told the Post that the officer did “outstanding, professional work.”

“This Council member and every other elected official who baselessly smeared our police officers owe them an apology,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement to The Post.

Yusef Salaam Released a Statement Saying the Officer Did Not Answer His Question About Why He Was Pulled Over

Salaam released a statement to the New York Post saying he was driving with his wife when he was pulled over.

“Last night, while driving with my wife and children and listening in to a call with my Council colleagues on speakerphone, I was pulled over by an NYPD officer in my beloved Village of Harlem within the 28th Precinct,” Salaam said in a statement to the Post.

“I introduced myself as Councilman Yusef Salaam, and subsequently asked the officer why I was pulled over. Instead of answering my question, the officer stated, ‘We’re done here,’ and proceeded to walk away,” he said, according to The Post.

The NYPD Believes the Officer Who Stopped Yusef Salaam Should Be ‘Commended for His Polite, Professional & Respectful Conduct’

According to the release, at about 6:20 p.m. on January 27 in the 26 precinct, an officer pulled over a “blue sedan with a Georgia license plate for driving with dark tint beyond the legal limits, a violation of New York State Law.”

The officer “approached the vehicle, identified himself, and asked the driver to roll down his windows,” the NYPD wrote.

“The driver complied and identified himself as New York City Councilmember Yusef Salaam, performing official duties, at which point the officer advised him to have a good night.”

According to the NYPD, “This entire account is corroborated by body-worn camera footage and the vehicle report.”

“As the video shows, throughout this interaction, the officer conducted himself professionally and respectfully. He followed all proper procedures, including procedures that were put in place after Detective Russel Timoshenko was shot and killed through tinted windows in 2007.

“This officer should be commended for his polite, professional and respectful conduct and for using his discretion appropriately so the councilmember could complete his official duties.”

NYPD added, “To be clear, however, last night’s exchange was not a Level 1 interaction, as any vehicle stop is, by definition, a Level 4 encounter since the officer had probable cause of a violation of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. And following NYPD procedure, all vehicle stops are already properly documented with a vehicle report, as was done here.”

Yusef Salaam Served Nearly 7 Years for a Crime He Did Not Commit in the Infamous Central Park Jogger Rape Case

According to the Innocence Project, “On the night of April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old female jogger was brutally attacked and raped in New York’s Central Park. She was found unconscious with her skull fractured, her body temperature at 84 degrees, and 75 percent of her blood drained from her body. When she recovered, she had no memory of the assault. Initial police investigations quickly focused on a group of African American and Latino youths who were in police custody for a series of other attacks perpetrated in the park that night.”

The page notes, “After prolonged periods of police interrogation, five teenagers – Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise – confessed to being involved in the attacks. At the time, the defendants were between 14 and 16 years of age.”

DNA later identified another suspect: Matias Reyes, the site says. “Eventually, the evidence from the crime was subjected to DNA testing. The DNA profile obtained from the spermatozoa found in the rape kit matched the profile of Reyes. Mitochondrial DNA testing on the hairs found on one of the defendants revealed that the hairs were not related to the victim or the crime. Further testing on hairs found on the victim also matched Reyes.”

The site adds, “On December 19, 2002, on the recommendation of the Manhattan District Attorney, the convictions of the five men were overturned. Yusef Salaam had served nearly seven years for a crime he did not commit.”

READ NEXT: Wisconsin University Chancellor Accused of Starring in Online Porn Videos