New York cop arrests Black man on drug charges that could have sent him to prison for 10 years. Then he accidentally records himself planting evidence
One little mistake told a much bigger story
A police officer is supposed to find evidence, not plant it. But one New York cop allegedly planted drugs on a Black man who could have faced 10 years in prison. His own body camera ended up exposing him.
For Ivin Harper, this wasn’t his first arrest over questionable drug charges. A year earlier, another officer had allegedly mistaken his protein powder for cocaine. This time, however, there was video evidence.
According to Atlanta Black Star, former New Rochelle Police Lt. Sean Kane allegedly planted drugs near Harper’s SUV. The charges were later dismissed, and Harper has now filed a lawsuit against the city and others involved.
He didn’t see this coming
The incident began on May 29, 2024, when Harper, a fitness instructor and aspiring actor, was standing near his Cadillac Escalade at an apartment complex in New Rochelle. According to his lawsuit, he spotted Kane approaching and immediately left on foot.
Harper reportedly feared the officer because of their previous encounters. The lawsuit alleges Kane had repeatedly harassed him and even threatened to plant drugs on him. Despite having no reasonable suspicion of a crime, Kane pursued Harper before returning to investigate his vehicle.
Police have faced scrutiny over arrests involving Black people that were later challenged by video evidence. But in Harper’s case, the footage reportedly came from the officer accused of manufacturing the evidence himself.
According to the lawsuit, Kane allegedly obtained a bag of white powder from Gregory Davis, a civilian described as his friend. Officers reportedly muted their body cameras during conversations about planting the drugs. However, Kane apparently made a crucial mistake while handling the evidence.
His body camera was already recording video when he pressed a button to activate the audio. Believing he had just turned the device on, Kane allegedly failed to realize it had captured him holding the bag of drugs inside his patrol vehicle.
The footage then reportedly showed Kane driving toward Harper’s SUV, stepping outside, and reaching beneath its front driver’s-side tire. He quickly retrieved a bag of white powder, which prosecutors later determined was the same bag he had been holding earlier.
Back inside his patrol car, Kane contacted dispatch. “It’s going to be one for felony drugs,” he announced. When the dispatcher asked, “You found the drugs?” Kane replied, “Affirmative.”
The lawsuit also accuses Officer Maria Vasquez of falsely reporting that Kane had witnessed Harper throwing drugs beneath the SUV. Another officer, Timothy Adrian, allegedly participated in the conspiracy. All three officers and Davis are named as defendants.
Harper was arrested on July 10, 2024, on drug charges that could have sent him to prison for 10 years. But prosecutors dismissed the case 44 days later after reviewing the body-camera footage.
The incident raises familiar concerns about police conduct during arrests that later resulted in dismissed charges. Yet Kane reportedly avoided criminal prosecution. A grand jury declined to indict him, and the police department demoted him rather than firing him.
Kane eventually resigned in March 2026 after 19 years with the New Rochelle Police Department. He reportedly went on to work as a deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, Harper says the arrests damaged his career, reputation, and emotional well-being. In July 2023, another New Rochelle officer, Jared Gramble, had arrested him after allegedly identifying protein powder in his vehicle as cocaine. Those charges were also dismissed.
Following the second dismissal, Harper expressed his frustration in court. “This happened to me last year in the same courtroom. I got arrested for protein powder – mysteriously, it turned to cocaine,” he recalled.
“Now, one year later, while I’m trying to get my life back on track, they do this to me again,” he continued.
Harper’s federal lawsuit, filed July 13, 2026, seeks accountability for the alleged fabrication of evidence and the resulting harm. But his most troubling question came after the charges against him were dropped. “And you know what? If I never had this video, who would have believed me?”
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