A Queens grand jury indicted an NYPD officer from the Rockaways for perjury, tampering with physical evidence, official misconduct and other crimes for allegedly lying under oath and falsifying documents in a weapon possession case in Cambria Heights.
Miguel Vanbrakle, 48, of Belle Harbor, was arrested on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 20, and booked at the 102nd Precinct after his testimony was allegedly contradicted by video from his body-worn camera. Vanbrakle was part of an NYPD team that executed a court-authorized search warrant, seeking firearms and other evidence, at a Cambria Heights residence in 2023. He allegedly planted evidence to tie the discovery of a gun to the target of the search warrant.
Vanbrakle was arraigned Jan. 20 in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with perjury in the first degree, two counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, official misconduct and making a punishable false written statement.
“As alleged, this officer was sworn to uphold the law and instead planted evidence in a gun possession case, perjured himself and lied on official documents,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “As a result of the defendant’s alleged actions, an individual had felony gun charges pending against him for more than a year.”
According to the indictment and investigation, on Oct. 19, 2023, Vanbrakle recovered a loaded .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver inside a locked safe underneath a bed at a Cambria Heights home. The homeowner claimed the gun was hers and not her fiancée’s, who was the target of the search warrant.
Vanbrakle testified before a grand jury and stated in a criminal complaint and on NYPS property vouchers that he recovered both the gun and a New York state benefit card belonging to the fiancée in the locked safe. The gun was the only one found in the residence. The homeowner’s fiancée was then indicted on felony weapon possession and other charges.
A review of body-worn camera footage showed that Vanbrakle allegedly emptied out a shoe box in the home’s living room and took the benefit card from that box and placed it in the safe where the firearm was discovered. DA Katz’s office moved to dismiss the weapons possession case in December 2024.
“After a thorough review of the evidence, we dismissed the gun possession case because of the alleged actions of this defendant,” Katz said. “The evidence in this matter was placed before a grand jury and the defendant is now indicted for perjury, tampering with evidence and official misconduct.”
The charges against the 12-year veteran of the NYPD are not bail eligible and he was released on his own recognizance. Queens Supreme Court Justice Leigh Cheng ordered Vanbrakle to return to court on Feb. 23. If convicted, Vanbrakle faces up to seven years in prison.
