Ymmacula Pierre, a 30-year-old female officer, allegedly stole the deceased man’s credit card information after being asked to conduct a wellness check at the man’s Union Square apartment.
Ken Sanden, 65, had passed away. After Ms. Pierre informed the family of the man’s passing, she allegedly stole the man’s credit card information and used it to purchase a $3,200 diamond ring.
Sanden passed away on July 14, 2014, and the ring was purchased some two days later. It would take authorities several months to unravel the mystery of the credit card fraud, however. Pierre was arrested on June 2, 2015.
The officer has been charged with possession of stolen property, identity theft and official misconduct. Pierre has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and has been suspended for 30 days without pay.
After pleading not guilty, Sanden was released. It is not known if she is currently being represented by a lawyer.
Sanden’s family found out about the potential fraud after the jewelry store contacted his family.
The New York City Police department has been under increasing fire, following several high profile cases of alleged excessive use of force, and misconduct.
Earlier this week the New York Daily News broke news on a surveillance video showing a NYPD officer running over two men on a dirt bike. The accident occurred in 2012.
The 20-year-old driver died, while his 17-year-old passenger was left brain dead. The officer claimed that the dirt bike swerved into traffic, but the video apparently shows otherwise.
Numerous other cases have tarnished the NYPD’s reputation in recent months.
