Bobby Shmurda had his first court appearance of the new year Monday, where his lawyer made a case for requesting documents of the officers involved in the 21-year-old rapper’s arrest, reports the The Fader. 

Alex Spiro questions the “credibility issues” regarding the unnamed NYPD officers, according to Billboard. He claims Shmurda was targeted in stop-and-frisk searches for years prior to his December 2014 arrest. The NYPD banned and later amended stop-and-frisk practices amid criticism and accusations of racial profiling. 

Shmurda, birth name Ackquille Pollard, has been locked up for more than a year now. He and four co-defendants face conspiracy to commit murder, weapons and drug charges. 

Spiro wants to see all of his client’s incident reports in addition to background reports on the unnamed officers involved, noting that the “absence of evidence is evidence in itself.” Per The Fader, Spiro argues that the officers involved in Shmurda’s case have “burdensome files” which could include false arrest and violating Constitutional rights. 

The case against Shmurda is based on hearsay versus physical evidence, attests his lawyer. “He's a musical artist,” Spiro said of Shmurda. “A lot of people talk about him.” Spiro also wants all Rikers phone records and transcripts of anyone tied to the case, on top of those already entered into evidence by prosecutors. 

In addition, Spiro requested a new bail hearing for Shmurda, which was scheduled for Jan. 19. Shmurda’s trial begins Feb. 22.

 
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