The New York Police Department (NYPD) suspended an officer who allegedly posted photos of a family being arrested on Snapchat.
The NYPD has yet to name the officer but says an investigation into the matter is underway, reports CNN. The department has not released an official statement on the matter.
Kimberly Santiago, 29, alleges that NYPD officers stormed into her mother’s apartment and pulled her and six family members out of bed. The officers came with a search warrant, but put the family in handcuffs so “so no one will go crazy or act up,” Santiago said, according to CNN.
The family was reportedly kept in handcuffs for three hours, while one of the officers allegedly posted photos of them to Snapchat.
“We thought he was texting on his phone. Because the whole three hours we were sitting here, he was the one standing there,” Santiago said. “We saw him on his phone, but we didn’t think an officer would do that.”
A friend reportedly saw the photos on Snapchat and later sent them to Santiago. One photo had the caption”Merry Christmas it’s NYPD!” and another was labeled “Warrant Sweeps it’s still a party smh.”
“Oh my God. When I saw that, I just said, man, this whole time this guy was recording this, like we were a joke?” Santiago said.
The police officers had been searching for a Hispanic man named JD Blue, according to a search warrant given to Santiago’s mother. Santiago said no one in her family knows the man.
After the woman learned of the Snapchat photos, she filed a complaint with the department. Santiago also said officers had broken things in the apartment during their search.
The New York woman remains unsatisfied with the officer’s suspension of 30 days without pay.
“Every time there’s a knock on the door we’re nervous, it messed us up,” she said. “How did my mom’s apartment become a situation they had to raid? Did they have any proof or cause to lead to all of this? I need answers, they got to do more than suspending.”
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