NOW HAIR’S A NOT SO CLEVER DEFENSE
DNA ‘proves’ pot-positive strands are cop’s
An NYPD sergeant who was head of security at Gracie Mansion blames her weave for a positive marijuana test — but that harebrained excuse may have gone up in smoke at her departmental trial Thursday.
Tracy Gittens has insisted she failed a drug test last year only because technicians unwittingly snipped strands of someone else’s human hair from the extensions stitched into the back of her head — and not her own locks.
But Thursday, a forensics analyst testified that DNA tests prove that the snipped strands are indeed a match to Gittens’.
There is a “95 percent confidence interval” that the snipped strands be- long to Gittens or one of her maternal relatives, forensic analyst Gloria Jean Dimick testified at the Police Headquarters proceeding.
The DNA test results also eliminate “99.85 percent of the North American population,” Dimick added.
In cross-examining the analyst, defense lawyer Michael Giordano asked if it’s accurate that the results “could not exclude Gittens or any of her maternal relatives equally.”
The analyst answered that it was true — that the snipped hairs could just as likely have come from one of Gittens’ maternal relatives as from Gittens herself.
It was unclear if Gittens intends to adopt something like a “Granny was a stoner” defense, claiming that it could have been a maternal aunt or grandmother who was the real culprit — by contributing tainted hair to the sergeant’s weave.
After court, Gittens’ lawyer declined to comment on his strategy.
Also testifying against Gittens Thursday was Dr. Joseph J. Ciuffo, the NYPD’s deputy chief surgeon.
Ciuffo said he reviews all positive drug tests for the department, “to explore alternative explanations” before action is taken.
“She offered no explanation for the test results,” Ciuffo said of calling Gittens and informing her of the drug-test results.
Gittens is a 13-year veteran who previously worked in First Lady Chirlane McCray’s personal security detail.
After the positive results from Gittens’ random drug test last year, she was pulled from her security post at Gracie Mansion.
She is charged with ingesting and possessing marijuana, and remains on paid desk duty in Queens pending the outcome of the trial.
Closing arguments before Administrative Judge Nancy Ryan, who is the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for trials, are expected as early as Friday.
It typically takes weeks or even months for a decision to be rendered.
A positive drug test, if confirmed, could be grounds for firing — but that decision would be up to Police Commissioner James O’Neill.