A Queens man arrested after he was allegedly overheard vowing to kill white cops in New York was found to have an “arsenal” of weapons, including bulletproof vests and firearms with serial numbers filed off, the NYPD reported.
Police say that Elvin Payamps of Queens was heard talking on his cell phone lamenting the fact that neither of the two officers killed the weekend before Christmas were white and vowing to kill white officers to correct the situation.
Payamps’s alleged threat was overheard by ex-NYPD officer Charles Otero while speaking on his cell phone out in public. Using 911, Otero immediately reported what he claimed to have heard.
According to Otero, Payamps said, “I’m going to kill another cop. We should do it before Christmas. The cop should have been white that was killed. I always have a gun on me.”
After Payamps’s arrest, police reportedly found several firearms with defaced serial numbers, a pair of brass knuckles, and two bulletproof vests–one of which he admitted to stealing from the Brooklyn Detention Center. Some small amount of pot was also recovered from the apartment.
Payamps was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail on felony weapons charges, charges of felony aggravated harassment, unlawful use of a police uniform, and marijuana possession.
Meanwhile, a criminal court judge has already released two other New Yorkers who were arrested after making threats to kill New York police officers.
Over successive days, Judge Laura Johnson (appointed by Mayor Bloomberg in 2013) released both Devon Coley and Travis Maye, who were accused of threatening to kill cops. Coley even wrote his threats out on social media but Johnson ordered his release mere hours after his arrest.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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