Jasper Boyd was on his way to pick up his seven-year-old son from school when New York Police Department Officer Wilson Gonzalez stopped him for walking quickly in and out of a building. When questioned by Gonzalez, Boyd said he had just gone inside to get his umbrella because it was raining.
That was enough to prompt Gonzalez to ask Boyd for his identification, saying he wanted to see if there were any outstanding warrants for his arrest. When Boyd objected, Gonzales began to frisk him, and issued a summons for disorderly conduct, the catch-all that is often used to criminalize uncooperative behavior.
Boyd later filed a complaint at the precinct, overcoming claims that they didn’t have any forms. Boyd is a former corrections officer, which means he has significantly more knowledge of his rights and remedies than the average subject of a stop.
He knew that Gonzalez could only have frisked him upon reasonable suspicion that he was armed and dangerous, and there was no evidence to support that. He also knew what a frivolous disorderly conduct summons looks like. Under new stop-and-frisk reforms that enable the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board to prosecute stop-and-frisk claims, Gonzalez pleaded guilty both to a wrongful stop-and-frisk, and to writing the summons without sufficient legal authority, according to the New York Daily News. The punishment is 15 days without pay.