Four New York police officers were slapped with disciplinary action for throwing a football around with a boy at a Bronx housing estate on the Fourth of July. The cops, who claim they were simply trying to build community relations, were caught tossing the ball to the seven-year-old by Deputy Chief James McNamara, commanding officer of the Bronx Housing Bureau. After spotting the officers playing with the boy he is reported to have stormed over to give them a stern dressing-down in front of several members of the public.
Two of the officers involved have accepted a penalty of two days holiday but the other two have decided to fight the ruling. Catherine Guzman, who has served 17 years on the force, told the New York Daily News: 'I don't think throwing a football to a seven-year-old boy is misconduct. 'It was the Fourth of July, it was 96 degrees out and we were interacting with the community. 'Everybody was happy.'
Guzman and Officer Mariana Diaz are taking their case to the department trial room but will face greater punishment if they are found to have neglected their duties. Their lawyer, Eric Sanders, said the NYPD needs to rethink its definition of community policing.
Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1YTZqZqh2
Cops disciplined for playing football with kids
Started by
Killicksparker
, Sep 20 2011 07:39 AM
10 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 20 September 2011 - 07:52 AM
Four New York police officers were slapped with disciplinary action for throwing a football around with a boy at a Bronx housing estate on the Fourth of July. The cops, who claim they were simply trying to build community relations, were caught tossing the ball to the seven-year-old by Deputy Chief James McNamara, commanding officer of the Bronx Housing Bureau. After spotting the officers playing with the boy he is reported to have stormed over to give them a stern dressing-down in front of several members of the public.
Two of the officers involved have accepted a penalty of two days holiday but the other two have decided to fight the ruling. Catherine Guzman, who has served 17 years on the force, told the New York Daily News: 'I don't think throwing a football to a seven-year-old boy is misconduct. 'It was the Fourth of July, it was 96 degrees out and we were interacting with the community. 'Everybody was happy.'
Guzman and Officer Mariana Diaz are taking their case to the department trial room but will face greater punishment if they are found to have neglected their duties. Their lawyer, Eric Sanders, said the NYPD needs to rethink its definition of community policing.
Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1YTZqZqh2
#3
Posted 20 September 2011 - 08:30 AM
Four New York police officers were slapped with disciplinary action for throwing a football around with a boy at a Bronx housing estate on the Fourth of July. The cops, who claim they were simply trying to build community relations, were caught tossing the ball to the seven-year-old by Deputy Chief James McNamara, commanding officer of the Bronx Housing Bureau. After spotting the officers playing with the boy he is reported to have stormed over to give them a stern dressing-down in front of several members of the public.
It sounds like the Deputy chief has been extremely unprofessional... If the officers had really been neglecting their duties, then a stern dressing down out of the public eye would be more suitable... Sounds like someone wants to show them who is boss...
Best of luck to the two officers who were showing great community spirit on a national holiday - However, if they were neglecting duty (ignoring jobs, etc), then that would be a different matter...
Edit: Read the article properly...
Edited by candles, 20 September 2011 - 08:32 AM.
#4
Posted 20 September 2011 - 09:36 AM
It sounds like the Deputy chief has been extremely unprofessional... If the officers had really been neglecting their duties, then a stern dressing down out of the public eye would be more suitable... Sounds like someone wants to show them who is boss...
Best of luck to the two officers who were showing great community spirit on a national holiday - However, if they were neglecting duty (ignoring jobs, etc), then that would be a different matter...
Edit: Read the article properly...
you can't say the chief has neglect of duty and then say he should blx them in private.
They are unlikely to not answer a call either, and were probably on foot, and more peed off he was paying them O/T...,
http://www.nyctransi...ad.php?p=480938
Monday, September 19th 2011
"Even before the NYPD was embroiled in a dustup over dirty dancing, four cops got caught up in a Fourth of July football-throwing fiasco, the Daily News has learned.
Two of the officers are fighting the discipline raps they received for tossing around a football with a young boy at a Bronx housing project - charging oversensitivity from police brass jeopardizes community relations.
"I don't think throwing a football to a 7-year-old boy is misconduct," said Officer Catherine Guzman, a 17-year veteran of the force. "It was the Fourth of July, it was 96 degrees out and we were interacting with the community.
"Everybody was happy," she added.
That is, everybody except Deputy Chief James McNamara, the commanding officer of the Bronx Housing Bureau. He witnessed the football tossing and gave the cops a dressing-down worthy of Vince Lombardi.
"He was irate and berated us in front of everyone," Guzman recalled. "He said, 'What are you doing? Do you realize you are on overtime?'"
News of the football caper comes on the heels of controversy over cops videotaped dancing and gyrating during the annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade. Police officials are reviewing the tape of the Labor Day weekend incident, which shows cops happily grinding their hips into the backsides of scantily clad dancers at the Brooklyn parade.
The four officers involved in the 2010 football-throwing incident at the Webster Houses were slapped with command disciplines, and two accepted a penalty of two vacation days.
But Guzman and Officer Mariana Diaz are appealing the ruling and taking their case to the department trial room.
Both face significantly stiffer penalties if they are found guilty of charges that they "did fail and neglect to remain alert, to wit: throwing and catching a football with three uniformed members of service...while maintaining a foot post."
Their lawyer, Eric Sanders, said the NYPD needs to rethink its definition of community policing.
"I think the Police Department prefers its officers to be an occupying force rather than interacting with the community it serves," Sanders said.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not respond to a request for comment.
Diaz said she's taking a stand on principle.
"There's a lot of negativity toward police," she said. "I want kids in the community to look at us in a positive way."
#5
Posted 20 September 2011 - 10:40 AM
you can't say the chief has neglect of duty and then say he should blx them in private.
They are unlikely to not answer a call either, and were probably on foot, and more peed off he was paying them O/T...,
I didn't say the Chief "has" neglect of duty - I said "If the officers had really been neglecting their duties", i.e as in the four officers who have been accused of neglecting their duty...
#6
Posted 23 February 2012 - 09:21 AM
Looks like the officers will be facing a disciplinary hearing:
http://www.nydailyne...ticle-1.1026577
http://www.nydailyne...ticle-1.1026577
#7
Posted 23 February 2012 - 11:28 AM
I often think we go to far down the 'community policeing' road over here, but that is takeing it to extremes 
.
.
#8
Posted 23 February 2012 - 10:26 PM
The story fails to mention why the officers were assigned a foot post on over time.
#9
Posted 23 February 2012 - 10:46 PM
The story fails to mention why the officers were assigned a foot post on over time.
Could there be more to it? Maybe? Would a senior officer - who just happened to be out on the ground - really bawl somebody out for building community relations?
The four of them were on OT for some reason, and maybe the Deputy Chief was in the area for the same?
In which case, if they'd been tasked and he happened across them doing something completely different then maybe he was well within his rights to bawl them out.
Just sayin'
#10
Posted 23 February 2012 - 11:10 PM
Could there be more to it? Maybe? Would a senior officer - who just happened to be out on the ground - really bawl somebody out for building community relations?
The four of them were on OT for some reason, and maybe the Deputy Chief was in the area for the same?
In which case, if they'd been tasked and he happened across them doing something completely different then maybe he was well within his rights to bawl them out.
Just sayin'
Fair enought point, but giving a few beat coppers a dressing down is somewhat different from dragging them through the formal diciplinary system.
#11
Posted 23 February 2012 - 11:18 PM
Fair enought point, but giving a few beat coppers a dressing down is somewhat different from dragging them through the formal diciplinary system.
Going by the story, isn't that the officer's choice? 2 of them accepted the penalty (doesn't that speak for itself?) and that is that, the other 2 decided to challenge it.
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