Bernhard Goetz Arrested On Drug Charge

Bernhard Goetz, the so-called subway vigilante, was busted this evening for allegedly trying to sell pot to an undercover NYPD cop.

Goetz was charged with the criminal possession and criminal sale of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana (reportedly only worth about $30) and was released on his own recognizance pending a December 18 court date.

He was reportedly arrested near where he lives in the Union Square, lower Manhattan area after telling a female officer working undercover that he wanted to get high with her.

According to Fox News, “Goetz, 65, met the undercover on the street, chatted her up and walked with her back to his apartment, where he went upstairs to allegedly get the weed. When he came downstairs to allegedly give her the pot, he was arrested, the source said.”

The arrest was reportedly part of routine policing in Union Square Park. “Police sources said they weren’t targeting Goetz specifically — he just happened to cross paths with the undercover officer assigned to cracking down on ganja peddlers in the park. Sources describe the undercover cop as ‘young,”‘ but police officials would not disclose her age — or if she was even alive when Goetz was a household name in Gotham.”

Goetz made national George Zimmerman-level headlines in 1984 when he shot four black teenagers in the subway who he claimed were trying to rob him. “Goetz… was acquitted of murder and assault charges in the shooting but was convicted of illegal possession of a weapon. He served less than nine months behind bars.”

Goetz was also sued in civil court as a result of the subway encounter “Twelve years after the incident, a civil court jury ruled that Goetz acted recklessly on the subway and ordered him to pay $43 million in damages to one of the men he shot who was permanently paralyzed as a result.” Goetz declared bankruptcy sometime thereafter.

Apart from a quixotic run for NYC mayor in 2001 and today’s drug bust incident, Bernhard Goetz has generally stayed out of limelight over the years.

[Image credit: AEMoreira042281]