New York Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD deflected questions about a judge’s scathing remarks questioning the credibility of a cop involved in the arrest of teen rapper C Blu.
16-year-old drill rapper Camrin “C Blu” Williams is accused of shooting NYPD officer Kaseem Pennant in the leg during a search. The rapper was also struck in the leg after a gun in his pocket went off as the search turned into a scuffle.
During a hearing on Tuesday (Mar. 10), Bronx Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj ruled to move the case from an adult criminal court to Family Court, New York Daily News report. She found arresting officer Taulant Gjonbalaj provided “unreliable” and “self-serving” testimony about the events of that night. After viewing video footage of the incident, she condemned cops for searching C Blu for “no apparent reason” and blasted Gjonbalaj’s account.
“I cannot state how absolutely incredible his testimony was. It was inconsistent with the video, it was inconsistent with his fellow officer’s testimony, it was self-serving, it had no value,” she said.
Cops initially claimed the rapper was part of a “disorderly crowd,” and the tussle occurred because he refused to follow their orders to take his hands out of his pockets. However, the judge said the video shows otherwise and found that C Blu was illegally searched and cops initiated the scuffle.
“While there is no disputing the fact that Mr. Williams had a gun on him that night … he literally does everything you tell your child to do when they’re approached by cops. He literally kept his hands up. He literally tried to record to make sure there was proof.” Semaj added, “He answered questions he had no obligation to answer.”
The judge ruled C Blu, currently out on bond, should be tried as a juvenile.
Mayor & NYPD Fail To Address Judge’s Scathing Remarks
The NYPD released a statement vowing to press ahead despite the judge’s remarks throwing the case into doubt.
“A 16-year-old and a police officer were each shot and wounded in this incident. The bullet came from a gun being carried by a teenager who was released in a prior gun arrest. The officers were on patrol that night for the sole purpose of keeping our citizens safe. Those are the most critically important elements of this case,” said Deputy Commissioner of Public Information John Miller. “We may respectfully disagree with the judge, but we intend to litigate this case in the courtroom.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Adams also issued a statement, though he too declined to mention the judge’s comments about the inconsistent testimony.
“I agree with the judge that there is no denying Mr. Williams had an illegal gun on him that night — a gun that ended up injuring both him and a police officer. This was Mr. Williams’ second gun-related arrest and exactly the reason why we need to work to get guns off the streets,” he said.