Auxiliary Cop Accused Of Lying About Alcohol Sting Resulting In Bodega Worker's Arrest Faces Charges

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An auxiliary officer is now under arrest for allegedly lying during a Brooklyn sting operation back in April.

Anthony Harriott, 18, reported that a worker at the Giselle Mini Market on East New York Avenue sold him alcohol even though surveillance footage showed the worker,  44-year-old Ismael Duran, actually refused his repeated requests for booze.

Harriott then apparently convinced a 51-year-old customer to buy the beer and hand it to him outside the store. A few minutes later, both Duran and the man who bought the beer were arrested by police.

Duran, a married father of three who immigrated from the Dominican Republic three years ago, spent one night in jail. On the advice of a legal aid attorney, he pleaded guilty to unlawfully dealing with a child and selling liquor to a person under the legal drinking age.

Duran later had the case against him dismissed.

Now, the auxiliary officer, Harriott, is facing numerous charges, including official misconduct and falsely reporting an incident.

"This is a guy that wants to be a police officer and is training to be crooked before he even makes it to the rank and file. We are pleased that this man is under arrest. We're pleased that the truth finally came out," said Fernando Mateo, spokesman for the Bodega Association of the United States.

Mateo said he hopes the case has a long term impact.

"We're hoping that we will send a very clear message to the police department, to the auxiliary cops, to the real cops, that this type of behavior will not be tolerated," he said.

Mateo said he want Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to fire the police officer who made the arrest after working with the auxiliary officer, saying it would send "a message that anyone that gets caught in any crooked activity will be fired."