Another Lawsuit Filed Against Town, Police

Yet another lawsuit has been filed against Southampton Town and its police department after a District Attorney investigation led to several overturned convictions last year, in cases investigated by the now-defunct Street Crimes Unit.

Bernard Cooks was originally charged in January 2011 with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third and fourth degrees, criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree and unlawful possession of marijuana. However the charges were later vacated for Cooks, as well as the three other men charged in the raid, after authorities found out one of the officers was addicted to painkillers at the time.

One of those men, Kwame Opoku, filed suit against the town and police department in late March, alleging his constitutional rights to “freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom from compelled self-incrimination, and the right to equal protection under the law” were violated.

A lawsuit filed by another man arrested by the Street Crimes Unit – and later released – was dismissed by a district court judge about a month ago.

According to Newsday, Cooks' lawsuit alleges that Southampton Town, its police, as well as Suffolk County and the District Attorney, were "ignoring a pattern of law enforcement improprieties and misconduct in order to secure a conviction."

Click here to read the entire Newsday story (subscription required).