Brickbat: Justice Delayed
In New York City, Judge Tamiko Amakar has overturned the 2018 conviction of Jason Serrano for resisting arrest after bodycam video showed one of the officers who arrested him appear to plant marijuana in the car Serrano was in. Serrano was charged with drug possession, resisting arrest, and obstruction. He pleaded guilty to resisting arrest to avoid a jail sentence. The video wasn't turned over to his attorney until after the plea. Tamiko also considered the disciplinary records of the two officers who arrested Serrano. One of them, Kyle Erickson, was disciplined twice in 2018 for invoice discrepancies related to drug seizures. Prosecutors did not turn those records over the Seranno's attorney. They were uncovered through an open records request by local media.