Commonwealth v. C.C.

C.C. was arrested for firearms and narc Otis offenses in Frankford after police claimed they observed him throw a bag of cocaine into his car. Canine arrived and alerted to the presence of narcotics in C.C.’s car. A search was conducted and a large amount of cocaine and a firearm was recovered. At a motion to suppress evidence, a police officer testified that she approached C.C. while he was sitting in the front passenger seat of his parked car because it was illegally parked. She claimed that he immediately shut the door after throwing the bag of cocaine. Unbeknownst to the officer, defense investigators at discovered a video surveillance system on a nearby factory which captured the entire interaction. The video revealed the officer perjured herself numerous times and a the Judge granted the defense motion to suppress on the basis of the officer’s lack of credibility. There case was dismissed and the C.C. was released from jail. A civil suit against the officer and the City of Philadelphia is now pending.