Ossining police officer fired after he was accused of stealing money from man he stopped

The firing of an Ossining cop in November came just days after a village resident accused the officer of stealing $900 from him during a police stop outside a bar, The Journal News/lohud has learned.

But Marques Randolph insists that he never took any money from the man and that his supervisors conducted an incomplete investigation that cost him the job he loved.

The allegation led to an investigation of Randolph by the Westchester District Attorney's Office that was recently concluded with no charges brought. Police Chief Aaron Zimmerman said the state Attorney General's Office is also investigating but a spokeswoman for that agency declined to comment on the status.

The Journal News/lohud reported Randolph's firing a day after the Board of Trustees voted for termination on the recommendation of then police Chief Kevin Sylvester. Village officials provided no explanation but the state Division of Criminal Justice Services told the newspaper at the time that the police department had filed to have Randolph's training decertified on the grounds that he was fired for dishonesty and official misconduct.

Randolph, who joined the department in July 2023 after a year as a Mount Vernon cop, was fired while still a probationary officer in Ossining. He complains that he was never formally interviewed in advance of any disciplinary action but Zimmerman said he was not entitled to that because he was deemed a "probationary failure."

What was the allegation against Marques Randolph?

According to police reports obtained through a Freedom of Information request, the theft allegation was made by 57-year-old Jimmy Betancourt, a resident of South Highland Avenue.

Late on Nov. 10. Betancourt told police he had driven to Walgreens on Croton Avenue to buy beer and take it back to his niece's home, where he had been drinking earlier. When he realized Walgreens was closed he claimed he was going to leave although video showed he had pulled into a parking spot.

Randolph was in the Walgreens parking lot parking lot next to the Atlantic Bar & Restaurant and he pulled up behind Betancourt's pickup truck. When he got out to speak with the driver, Betancourt told him he'd had a few beers and did not have his license, at which point Randolph told him to get out of the car and empty his pockets.

The two walked over to the patrol car. Betancourt claimed he put his money and phone on the front seat. Randolph was going to use his computer to check on Betancourt but did not and told him he could leave. Betancourt walked away without taking his money, which Randolph soon returned to him.

Betancourt was happy to have been let go but instead of leaving he went inside to the bar and ordered a beer. When he finished and paid for it, he said he realized he only had $220, not the $1,120 he had with him that night.

He left the bar and looked unsuccessfully for the nine missing $100 bills. He immediately reported the missing money and his suspicion that Randolph had taken it to Sgt. Jafeth Chavez, who had responded there on another matter.

Randolph denied taking the money

Chavez and Sgt. Anthony Oliveira later interviewed Randolph, who denied taking any money. He said he never counted it and suggested that there hadn't been as much money as Betancourt claimed because the stack of bills was not that thick. He also claimed Betancourt had put the money on the hood of the patrol car and that he had never been alone with the money.

In their reports, the sergeants said they admonished Randolph after he acknowledged that he did not activate his body-worn camera while dealing with Betancourt, did not radio in that he was interviewing someone, did not conduct a field sobriety test and did not check Betancourt's pedigree information.

Randolph had told them he thought his interaction with Betancourt was minor and did not need to be recorded or reported and that he had not been logged into the EJustice program in the patrol car so did not run Betancourt's name, according to Chavez' report.

Zimmerman, who was a detective lieutenant when he took Betancourt's formal complaint three days after the incident, said that it was deemed to be credible and therefore passed along to county and state prosecutors for investigation.

No charges filed against Randolph by DA

Last month, Jennifer Sculco, the DA's Public Intergrity bureau chief, wrote to Zimmerman that "based on the totality of the circumstances, including our legal assessment of the admissibility of certain evidence at a potential criminal proceeding against Randolph, we have concluded our investigation without the filing of any charges against Randolph."

The interaction between Randolph and Betancourt was recorded on videos from Walgreens and the bar. Randolph contends that the bar video appears to show Betancourt counting his money as he walks to the bar just moments after getting it back from Randolph, in which case he either had all his money then or would have known something was missing.

But neither video showed anything being placed on the hood of the patrol car. And a short time after Betancourt walked away from the car, the Walgreens video appears to show Randolph at the driver's side of his car for several seconds before hurrying to return Betancourt's items — without stopping in front of the car where he would have if items were on the hood.

Randolph hired a lawyer to pursue a court action challenging his termination but he said a deadline passed before anything was filed.

Reached by phone recently, Betancourt said that he had not immediately counted the money when Randolph returned it to him because he trusted him, especially since he was letting him go even though he had admitted drinking and not having a license.

He said he was not focused on the investigations into Randolph but was thankful he was no longer a cop.

"I've lived here a long time, I trust the police," he said. "But the law is the law. He should not have done that."

But Randolph insists he didn't do what Betancourt claimed. The rush to judgement by his supervisors and resulting de-certification, he said, is making it harder for him to get another job in law enforcement but he's not giving up hope.

He was part of the chronic "badge drain" from Mount Vernon, seeking higher pay and a shorter commute but now regrets ever leaving the city. He recalls with pride the Commissioner's Award he received for his police work several weeks before he left.

"I'm a community guy who upholds the law and is strong into values and has integrity," he said. "And they just fired me."

Staff writer Asher Stockler contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Ossining cop fired after being accused of stealing money during a stop