A New York City resident is a million dollars richer after officials settled a case where he was framed with a DWI despite not being a drinker.
On April 19, 2015, Oliver Wiggins was framed with a DWI charge in a police cover-up. An NYPD officer drove into a marked SUV through a stop sign in Brooklyn and then rammed into Wiggins' car.
The now 33-year-old victim was arrested, charged with a DWI, his license was suspended and his insurance company refused to pay for the damages to his 2004 Nissan Maxima because of the charge, according to The New York Daily News.
All of this happened to him even though the breathalyzer came back negative. Additionally, the hospital records also showed that he had no alcohol in his system. The EMT and DWI technician each said Wiggins did not have signs of intoxication.
Oliver Wiggins says he was charged in a cover-up after an officer ran a Brooklyn stop sign and hit his car in 2015. Wiggins tested negative for alcohol and drugs. Three months later, prosecutors dismissed the charges.
Police accountability is a joke in this country. https://t.co/44OZBiqOp1
— The Resistance (@TaritaC) March 3, 2018
Wiggins also suffered “significant injuries that require surgery to his wrist,” attorney Scott Rynecki said.
About three months after the incident, the charges were dropped upon discovery of a cover-up.
It was later revealed that the officer identified as Justin Joseph wrote in the report that Wiggins had slurred speech, watery eyes, alcohol on his breath and was observed swaying. All proven to be untrue. For the injustice he suffered, Wiggins filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers involved Joseph, Jason Conway, Greg Gingo, Matthew Sabella and Chris Connor.
In his native Jamaica, Wiggins was a corrections officer just like his father and said that his bad experience made him understand the power that law enforcement has.
“This situation really made him understand the power of the badge and that police have to be honest because that’s how an innocent man can face frivolously charges,” Rynecki said.
Officials decided to avoid a trial by settling the case. “Settling this case was in the best interest of the city,” a law department spokesman told The Daily News.
Ultimately, the officers were not reprimanded. In 2015, Wiggins wrote a letter to then-District Attorney Kenneth Thompson demanding that the officers be investigated but nothing happened and all officers involved are still with the department.
