Cop Indicted On Perjury After Evidence Shows He Lied

New York Police Officer Diego Palacios was indicted on felony charges after a surveillance video contradicted a story that led to an innocent man’s three-day imprisonment.

A 55-year old Bensonhurst Sheepshead Bay resident was driving home on February 5 to catch the Super Bowl when he passed Palacios. The cop alleged that the driver was going so fast he caused the cop to jump out of the way in fear for his life. [UPDATED BELOW]

Incidentally, the driver had installed surveillance cameras on his property due to a long-running property dispute with a neighbor. The camera captured the event.

Instead of the policeman’s story, it shows the driver carefully pulling into his driveway and the police officer standing still, without any sudden movements.

“My client never should have been put in a position where he had to spend a single second in jail,” said Craig Newman, the defense lawyer for the driver, to the New York Post.

Palacios was charged with official misconduct, perjury and false instrument charges for arrest.

The driver, who is now free, says he is happy with the verdict but now completely distrusts the NYPD, even harboring a fear of calling them for a 9-1-1 emergency.

Correction (5:38 p.m.): Whoops! Turns out the Post incorrectly described the victim as a Bensonhurst resident. He is actually a Sheepshead Bay resident, and our sister site Sheepshead Bites has been covering the story from the start.