‘If Not for Video’: Bodycam Exposes New York Cop Planting Drugs on Black Man In Case That Could Have Sent Him to Prison for 10 Years
Twice in less than a year, New York cops arrested Ivin Harper, a Black fitness instructor, on fabricated drug charges.
New Rochelle police officer Jared Gramble first arrested Harper in July 2023, claiming protein powder found in Harper’s car was cocaine. Prosecutors later dismissed the charges after Gramble left the department.
A year later, in July 2024, New Rochelle Police Lt. Sean Kane arrested Harper on felony drug charges. Prosecutors dismissed those charges after Kane’s body camera captured him planting drugs in Harper’s car after Harper fled on foot.
Lawsuit Filed
Earlier this week, Harper filed a lawsuit over the second arrest against the city of New Rochelle, Kane, and two other officers accused of going along with the false arrest, as well as a private citizen who allegedly supplied the drugs to Kane.
“On May 29, 2024, Defendant Officer Sean Kane fabricated evidence by planting drugs near Mr. Harper and pretending the drugs belonged to Harper,” states the lawsuit filed Monday, July 13, by attorneys Luna Droubi and Tala Alfoqaha of Beldock Levine & Hoffman, along with David Fisher of Fisher & Byrialsen.
“Additional officers then knowingly fabricated a police report claiming they saw Mr. Harper throw a bag of drugs. Body-worn camera footage reveals this is false.”
New Rochelle police arrested Harper on July 10, 2024, on felony drug charges that could have sent him to prison for a decade.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges 44 days later, on August 23, 2024, after reviewing video evidence showing Kane planting the drugs.
“As a result of the charges, Mr. Harper suffered financial damages, reputational harm, and severe emotional distress,” the claim states.
“Mr. Harper lost employment opportunities, and his reputation suffered.”
Watch video below.
Preying on City’s Black Community
Kane’s body camera footage shows him holding a bag of white powder inside his patrol car, apparently believing the camera was off. He then activates the audio, still seemingly unaware that the video is recording.
He drives to where Harper left his car, exits his patrol vehicle, and reaches under the front driver’s-side tire of Harper’s SUV, claiming he found the same bag of drugs he had been holding earlier.
Back in his patrol car, Kane radios dispatch: “It’s going to be one for felony drugs.”
“You found the drugs?” a dispatcher asks.
“Affirmative,” Kane responds.
A grand jury later declined to indict Kane, and the department did not fire or charge him. Instead, officials demoted him, prompting his resignation in March after 19 years with the New Rochelle Police Department. He now works as a Putnam County sheriff’s deputy, local media reported.
During his two decades with the department, Kane built a reputation in the city’s Black community, which makes up about 18 percent of the population.
“This big white cop been destroying our little Black community for so many years,” Harper said in court after the charges were dismissed in August 2024, in a video recorded by Lohud, the newspaper covering the Lower Hudson Valley in Downstate New York, just north of New York City.
“We’ve been coming down here begging you guys, so many complaints. Every time we came with a complaint, they promoted him.”
History of Misconduct
According to the lawsuit, Harper was standing outside his Cadillac Escalade parked at an apartment complex on May 29, 2024, when he saw Kane approaching. Because of prior negative encounters, he left on foot.
“Mr. Harper had previously been harassed and threatened by Defendant Kane,” the claim states.
“Kane also had a reputation in the community as a corrupt officer. Plaintiff feared Kane was approaching to frame him, arrest him without cause, or otherwise harass him.”
“Specifically, there had been several incidents where Kane told Harper he was going to ‘get’ him or plant drugs on him. Defendant Kane has a history of misconduct and a lengthy disciplinary record.”
Despite having no reasonable suspicion that Harper had committed a crime, Kane chased him on foot while dispatch confirmed Harper was the registered owner of the Escalade.
“Kane invented a reason to search the Escalade when he radioed an ‘unauthorized use’ of the vehicle, even though dispatch had just confirmed Harper was the registered owner,” the claim states.
The lawsuit also alleges that Gregory Davis, a friend of Kane, told officers he had drugs that could be planted. That conversation was not recorded because officers muted their body cameras. Davis is also named as a defendant.
Kane turned off his body camera after abandoning the foot chase, then discussed planting drugs with other officers, according to the claim. He later obtained a bag of white powder from Davis while the cameras were off.
Incompetence Exposed the Lie
After obtaining the drugs, Kane inadvertently exposed himself.
“Defendant Kane pressed a button on his body-worn camera that activated the audio while the video was already recording,” the claim states. “Kane believed he was turning the camera on for the first time.”
“As a result, he recorded himself holding and palming the drugs he later claimed to have found in a parking lot.”
Kane then exited his vehicle, walked directly to the SUV’s front left tire, planted the bag of white powder, and quickly retrieved it.
After returning to his patrol car, he again radioed, “It’s going to be one for felony drugs.”
Officer Maria Vasquez, also named as a defendant, allegedly reinforced the false narrative by writing in her report that Kane saw Harper toss a bag of drugs under the vehicle.
Officer Timothy Adrian is also named in the lawsuit and accused of conspiring with Kane and Davis to plant the drugs.
The two arrests on fabricated charges have taken a toll on Harper’s career. He is also an aspiring actor.
“This happened to me last year in the same courtroom. I got arrested for protein powder – mysteriously, it turned to cocaine,” Harper told the court after his second case was dismissed.
“Now, one year later, while I’m trying to get my life back on track, they do this to me again.”
“And you know what? If I never had this video, who would have believed me?”