Cops slam brass in flap over vagrant
By TAMER EL-GHOBASHY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Cops accused police brass of pressuring them not to attend last night's
fund-raiser for an officer who was
suspended for refusing to arrest a homeless man.
In a memo to each NYPD command, the Internal Affairs Bureau classified the event
in support of Officer
Eduardo Delacruz as unauthorized. A copy of the memo was obtained by the Daily
News.
The National Latino Officers Association said the NYPD's decision intimidated
several officers into
skipping the benefit and could lead to harassment against cops who did show up.
"The message to police officers is that you better not attend," said Anthony
Miranda, a retired NYPD sergeant
who is executive chairman of the group that sponsored the benefit.
The memo, dated Dec. 27, was read at roll calls, he said.
Delacruz, 37, did not attend the event, held at the Vudu Lounge on the upper
East Side, because of the
memo, according to Miranda.
Earlier in the day, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the association had
the right to hold the event.
"I assume it's their right to do that," Kelly said. "I don't see any prohibition
against it."
A police spokesman declined to comment last night. Miranda said the NYPD's memo
was discriminatory.
"Numerous fund-raisers were held for convicted felon Chuck Schwarz, and not once
did the Police Department
monitor or send out a message saying that it was not authorized," Miranda said.
"The rules are being used
selectively against any support for officers of color."
Schwarz is serving five years for perjury for lying about his role in the police
torture of Abner Louima.
Delacruz, a nine-year veteran, drew a 30-day suspension in November after he
disobeyed a sergeant's
order to handcuff a vagrant in a Manhattan parking garage who had refused to go
to a shelter.
With Richard Weir and Martin Mbugua
Originally published on January 9, 2003