NYPD cops confused Jolly Rancher candies for crystal meth: suit

[Tom Servo]

NYPD cops confused Jolly Rancher candies for crystal meth: suit
Love Olantunjiojo, 25, was detained for around 24 hours after police found the sweets on him and a friend, the lawsuit says. The results from the NYPD lab found the red and blue 'crystalline rocks of solid material' were not a controlled substance, but Jolly Ranchers, the suit alleges.

BY JOHN MARZULLI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013, 10:18 PM

This drug bust went sour.

NYPD cops nabbed a Brooklyn man for possession of crystal meth but the drugs turned out to be a handful of perfectly legal Jolly Rancher candies, a lawsuit says.

The cop who arrested Love Olatunjiojo confidently stated in the criminal affidavit that he had professional training in the identification of methamphetamine.

[Tom Servo]

I don't buy the police excuse that crystal meth comes in all kinds of candy colors now. If it does, it's been heavily adulterated. Not that I should have to educate cops on this, but Breaking Bad was just a fantasy; the "special recipe" Walter White used on the show was accurate except for the blue color. A pure methamphetamine will be clear as glass.

Beyond that, I have to wonder how overzealous a cop has to be to not realize his mistake. Meth is most certainly funky but it ain't candy-scented. The claim that an on-the-spot test turned up positive is questionable. The 24 hour hold I suppose is within the bounds of the law, but why did the Brooklyn DA wait several months to drop the charges after it was discovered the cops bungled this one? Why did these guys get stopped in the first place?

The whole thing reeks and I hope this guy wins his suit. I doubt he will, since the cops always get away with this sort of loose procedure, but I hope this is an exception.

[Lanie]

perfectly legal Jolly Rancher candies

Are there illegal ones?

The NYPD will have to have a retraining course.

"The Difference Between Candy and Meth."