Is the NYPD lying about the police shooting of Rameek Smith?

On Wednesday morning, 25-year-old Rameek Smith died from a gun shot wound to the head. At 10:45 the night before, he was stopped by two officers and allegedly ran and fired two shots at them, one of which hit officer Dennis Vargas in the arm. The officers shot back, hitting him in the head. The New York Post, as always, bull-horned the NYPD’s official story: ‘Dangerous criminal’ injured in shootout with NYPD cops dies after he was freed on weak bail laws: police.”

Even though cases like this are rarely the direct result of “weak bail laws,” the Post was happy to trumpet Eric Adams’ talking point.

The incident, described as a “shoot-out,” conjures up a low-level Scarface desperately shooting off his guns as the law closes in. Or better yet, a Gotham villain cackling as he sprays bullets. In fact, Smith, whose last known address was a Staten Island homeless shelter, was out on bail on a gun possession charge after he was caught jumping a turnstyle. It seems a little strange that the prospect of facing justice for this low-level felony would spur Smith to engage in a Bonnie and Clyde style showdown with police.

It’s possible Smith knowingly engaged in a deadly fight with police, but there needs to be an investigation (I’m around editors!), because hear me out: The officers who approached Smith are part of the new Neighborhood Safety Teams, a revamp of the plainclothes units of the past. The old plainclothes made false arrests, illegal stops, and played key roles in virtually every high-profile police killing going back decades.

What made the units so dangerous is that they often jumped people who “resisted” because they thought they were getting attacked by thugs, since the officers wore civilian attire. Over and over, in lawsuit after lawsuit, civilians alleged that they only realized they were wrestling with police once the handcuffs came out.

After much, much lobbying by activists, the administration agreed to put NYPD insignia on the new 'safety teams.’ But it’s still nowhere near as obvious as standard uniforms and I suspect can very easily be missed in the dark. Beyond that, though, the units still ride around in unmarked police cars—sleek sedans with tinted windows.

According to news reports, the officers stopped the car, got out, and approached Smith, who then started running, and then fired his gun at them, twice. It’s possible that the officers calmly and legally approached Smith, who ran like the dangerous criminal that he is! It’s also quite possible that a car with tinted windows rolled up to him in the dark and two men he didn’t know jumped out and started chasing him (officers aren’t legally required to identify themselves, despite all of the ‘Stop! Police! moments on TV).

The officer, Dennis Vargas, is being hailed as a hero. The NY Post celebrated his 8 years of service. But his record raises some questions. In those 8 years, he’s racked up 39 CCRB complaints (40 percent of NYPD cops have none). The complaints include illegal stops, frisks, physical force, and refusal to provide name and shield number.

He was caught lying to the CCRB,, a fireable offense for which he was not fired:

After a man complained that officers stopped his car and searched it improperly, including opening the trunk and hood, PO Merita Hoxha said in her CCRB interview that she had conducted the stop alone. And her partner, PO Dennis Vargas, told the CCRB that he had been elsewhere during the stop. But security camera footage revealed that both officers were present, and PO Vargas’s NYPD cell phone showed that he had conducted a warrant check on the man while on the scene. The NYPD issued both officers instructions for the incident.

Recently, another story about a civilian out on bail shooting an officer completely fell apart. 16-year-old Camrin Williams was released on bail after allegedly shooting an officer, which, of course, led Adams and other officers to “fume” in the words of the Post. Bail reform letting a would-be cop killer on the loose! (In fact Williams had been able to raise money for his bail, which is how cash bail works, and what activists are trying to reform).

But when Williams went before Bronx Judge Naita Semaj, she excoriated the officer for lying. She noted that surveillance footage showed Williams had been doing nothing wrong, and cooperated when police approached. It was officers who initiated the violent encounter that led to the discharge of Williams’ gun.

“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. He answered questions he had no obligation to answer,” Semaj said.

Semaj added that Gjonbalaj’s testimony during the hearing did not match up with video evidence.

“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.

Smith is not going to have the opportunity to go before a judge and tell his side of the story.