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As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the bunch. And when it comes to the Big Apple and weed, the bunch is sometimes rotten to its core.
On Thursday, an NYPD transit officer and his accomplice allegedly robbed a Bronx man of a gym bag full of weed and his jewelry. Sources have identified the officer as Michael Latimer, and an eye witness claims they saw Latimer and his partner-in-crime put on ski masks and bulletproof vests before they entered the victim’s apartment to snatch his chains and cheeba at gunpoint. According to New York Daily News, Latimer was also caught on camera donning the vest and mask just prior to the robbery.
Ironically enough, the witness works at Transit District 12, located near the heist scene at Mace Avenue near Holland Avenue in Allerton, according to the New York Post. In other words, another transit cop may have reported Latimer to the authorities. Patrol officers in the neighborhood spotted the alleged robbers’ car and arrested them shortly after the stick-up, though no further details have been released.
Latimer’s arrest will surely inflame tensions between the NYC transit system and the city’s subway protestors. Last week, protesters shut down sections of the NYC transit system, demanding free fares and a ban on cops in the subway terminals. And last Friday, several protesters were arrested for allegedly vandalizing subway property.
The subway protests gained momentum after several police brutality incidents in the transit areas received public scrutiny, including a video that surfaced late last year of NYPD officers repeatedly punching an African-American teen in the face during an altercation.
I need to know the names and badge numbers of all of these officers who are punching these young Black boys in the face. They are teenagers.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) October 27, 2019
None of this brutality is OK.
See this @JumaaneWilliams? pic.twitter.com/VGu0C8OOvm
New York State’s legislature sought to legalize marijuana last year, but the move was put on hold so lawmakers could add social justice and equity provisions to the bill. Governor Cuomo promised last month that New Yorkers would get legal adult-use weed sometime this year.