Opinion
May 2, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Edward McLaughlin, J.).
The testimony of the police officer who claimed to have observed defendant shoving something underneath his thigh as the officer approached defendant's car from the rear was not so implausible as to be incredible as a matter of law (see, People v Garafalo, 44 A.D.2d 86, 88), and is not rendered such by the new evidence implicating the officer in a drug trafficking and extortion syndicate that operated out of his precinct house. The denial of a suppression motion must be judged solely on the evidence before the hearing court (People v Gonzalez, 55 N.Y.2d 720, 721-722, cert denied 456 U.S. 1010). Since the hearing court expressly disclaimed any reliance on the testimony of the other officer, there is no issue regarding the latter's credibility for this Court to resolve.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Wallach, Kupferman, Nardelli and Williams, JJ.