NEW YORK AP – A New York City police officer accused of sodomizing a drug suspect in a subway station was acquitted Monday after defense attorneys spent weeks chipping away at the credibility of the accuser, a self-professed gang member who admits to smoking pot regularly.

Officer Richard Kern had faced as many as 25 years in prison if convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, while colleagues Andrew Morales and Alex Cruz could have gotten up to four years on charges of hindering prosecution.