[Tyrese Haspil\Fahim Saleh]
Legal Aid Society: “The statements attributed to ‘unnamed’ NYPD sources are emblematic of a culture within the police department to rush to judgment and strip individual citizens of their fundamental right to a fair and impartial jury.”
Photo: Twitter
Today, lawyers for Tyrese Haspil, 21, are responding to his arrest for the murder of Haspil’s former boss Gokada CEO Fahim Saleh, 33, inside his $2 million dollar East Side condo.
The tech millionaire was reportedly decapitated and dismembered and his body parts put into trash bags. Police claim Haspil’s alleged motive for the crime was money. Haspil had allegedly stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Saleh.
Haspil is alleged to have murdered Saleh on July 13th, before returning to dismember him on July 14th.
Neville Mitchell, Esq. and Sam Roberts, Esq. Counsel from The Legal Aid Society’s Homicide Defense Task Force released the following joint statement concerning their client Tyrese Haspil:
“The New York City Police Department paraded our client, Tyrese Haspil, before press cameras at the time of his arrest. The demeaning ‘perp walk’ is the NYPD’s regular practice in high profile cases. But what has been unusual in Mr. Haspil’s case over the past few days, amidst massive media coverage, is the NYPD’s incessant use of ‘unnamed’ sources to deliver unproven, supposed ‘facts’ about this case.
“The statements attributed to ‘unnamed’ NYPD sources are emblematic of a culture within the police department to rush to judgment and strip individual citizens of their fundamental right to a fair and impartial jury. In this case, it is Tyrese Haspil, a 21-year-old first-time arrestee, whose Constitutional rights are in peril–namely, his presumption of innocence, his right to due process, and ultimately his critical right to a fair trial before a jury of his fellow New Yorkers.
“Many in our police department do not adhere to their own motto of Courtesy, Professionalism, and Respect. In this case, respect for due process of law. Trials are held in courts of law. They are not decided in a court of public opinion.
“We invite the Manhattan District Attorney to join us in calling for an end to these shameless tactics.We further again encourage New Yorkers to reject what the NYPD is doing, and continue to respect the legal rights common to us all. The law and common decency requires it. The Legal Aid Society insists on it.”
