Sergeant

Another brainchild of the NYPD was to replace the Desk Officer Lieutenant with a police officer. This was not accepted well by the senior lieutenants who now had to go on patrol duties. After about 5 years I was assigned as a SHO and responsible for making necessary notations in the large precinct blotter. These blotters were stored in the precinct basement and it was rumored that President Abraham Lincoln had visited the precinct and signed the log book.

I was able to check the entries for December 7,1941 and there was no mention of Pearl Harbor. I think I worked steady 4x12 tours with Ralph M as the 124 man and Kenny Mac as the TS operator. We had a good team and this would prepare me for my next assignment: Sergeant.

It is reported that most police officers get burnt out after 2 years as they respond to the same conditions on a daily or weekly basis. I first went upstairs and asked a decorated detective how I could become a detective. He said if you don’t have a Rabbi you got to find the door.

A rabbi, or in police jargon a hook, is someone who can influence your status in the department. He may be someone politically connected with city hall or a high ranking officer or chief who can get you a good assignment. It can be an assignment to the detective division or a transfer to a better precinct. It was almost impossible to get into the aviation unit, harbor patrol or mounted police. Often it took only a phone call.

Next I decided to study on a daily basis for the upcoming sergeants exam. Well, I scored high and me and 31 other officers were selected. We went to the police academy and after lunch we were told that only 16 would be promoted as a result of the NYC fiscal crisis. I had missed by 3 numbers and would have to wait about 5 years to get my Stripes.

After many delays I was informed that the City would allow the promotions to sergeant to begin again. I think that the 16 who had been sent back to commands would now be attending the BMOC, basic management orientation course. This would be two weeks before assignment to a new command or Precinct.

Before attending I went to my old friend in the 30th Precinct, Louie the tailor who wanted to be the one who would sew my stripes on my uniforms. My partner and I always checked on Louie at his store on w157 st and Broadway. He was a good source of information and a trusted friend. 

Louie had told me that during WW2, he had survived numerous Nazi concentration camps by telling the infamous Dr. Josef Menegle, “the Angel of Death,” that he was a tailor. He remembered that a fellow inmate had told him to say those words that would save his life. Mine were sewn on perfectly as he had learned this skill sewing on insignias on the Nazi uniforms.

Before I left I asked a veteran sergeant what to expect in my new assignment. He replied you have been a sergeant running this precinct for the last 4 years. Really, I had had very good Lieutenants and sergeants who would prepare me for my next step. The clerical officer told me that I was the first officer to be promoted to sergeant from the 30th, in as long as he could remember.

As soon as you arrive at the BMOC, you are handed your new gold shield and addressed as sergeant thereafter by the instructors, usually detectives and special police officers assigned to the police academy. One of the first things you learn is that you are no longer just responsible for your actions but rather the actions of those you supervise, a vicarious liability.

Second, if you go looking for trouble you will probably find it, and third get yourself a veteran chauffeur as he knows which jobs are important. Sometimes you just have to let the boys play as they do in basketball.

During these two weeks, you eventually find out what precinct you are going to be assigned to. I was lucky to have an old sergeant friend now in Personnel. He told me you are going to the 90th in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Be careful with the Hasidim and you will be alright. Next stop: the 90th located on 211 Union Ave., about 5 miles from my residence in Maspeth, Queens.

On January 31,1979 I was promoted to Sergeant and issued the gold shield with the number 1604 and assigned to the 90th precinct in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. My last partner Connie K’s favorite # was 604. He was a US Navy veteran in the mold of Bumber Morgan. He often made meal money on the precinct basement pool table. A fellow 30th police officer, now a sergeant in personnel, he arranged for my new assignment, He was my Italian Rabbi.

Note: I would carry 1604 for the next 14 years and I always believed Connie 604 was my guardian angel. Sadly, he died shortly after his retirement.

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Jumel Mansion: Patrol Post #4

 

The Jumel mansion is situated on W. 160 -162 street and Jumel terrace. It was the colonial home of Madame Jumel and Aaron Burr. It was used by General Washington during the Revolutionary War. Eliza Jumel became one of the wealthiest women in America, being married to both Roger Morris and Aaron Burr. She would be entombed in Trinity Church cemetery at W. 155 st and Broadway.


When I was a rookie about 14 officers in the 30th precinct were assigned to the 6pm x 2 am foot patrol. I was assigned to Patrol post 4, West 155 to 165 st and Edgecombe Ave. Specifically I was to give special attention to the Roger Morris, Jumel Mansion. As it was a gated park I was given the keys, not only to the front gate but also to the basement. Unlike the rest of the precinct patrol posts, PP #4 was like taking a time trip back to the 1700s. Opposite the Mansion was a small dead end street, Sylvan terrace, with the original small wooden houses.

Here are some incidents from Patrol Post #4.

During the bicentennial, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited and we had to change the street direction as the Queen always exits from the right. Her security saw one of our plainclothes red-headed Irish officers, John Browne, and said get him out of here. They then gave me a commemorative coin. We were not allowed to talk to the Queen, only respond if she talked to us. However, Prince Philip addressed and thanked us

After the Knicks won their championship in 1969, I saw a funky dressed man with a large hat. As I recognized him as Knick great Walt (Clyde) Frazier, I said, hey Clyde what are you doing up here. He said he was looking for the Edgecombe high school. I told him it was a few blocks up on W.165.

The next incident happened when an elderly Black man produced his lieutenant shield and said he was assigned to the security for former boxing champ Joe Louis at 555 Edgecombe Ave.

Finally, a couple of fellow officers had apprehended 2 youths who were playing with flintlock rifles. Upon questioning they said that they found a tunnel on the Harlem River drive which led to a trap door in the Mansion. The rifles were sent to ballistics which revealed that they were found to be loaded. Apparently the escape tunnel was dug 150 feet down in the rock at Coogan’s bluff.

As there was not much crime in this area, I was later assigned to another new brainchild idea, Vertical Patrol, with another rookie Kenny Mac.

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Case of Characters

Precinct Characters.

The precinct had a cast of characters from bosses to the patrolmen who would be called Police Officers with the advent of female officers. 

One of our Captains would send me for a can of tuna fish, he said don’t pick the top one as a mouse might have walked on it.

Ptl. Artie A. was a stickler for neatness. His locker was like no other for everything was placed in a specific order. Summer shirts, winter shirts, summer jacket and winter jacket. Also a special hook for his gun belt. He sustained an injury and was assigned to the interior of the precinct. He made a key rack for the keys to the police cars, each hook had two screws and he had the slot go up and down. Other officers would change the direction just to annoy him.

Ptl. John T. He always wanted to be a draftsman. Unlike other police officers who hand drew their accident reports, he drew them with accurate precision.

Ptl. Ralph M. He was one of the precinct typists and would type Uf 61, compliant reports, as well as other reports. One day he saw me typing my own report with 10 fingers. He said you can type? I said I was taught in high school. Soon after that I became his assistant.

Ptl. Kenny M. He was a police trainee and was assigned to the telephone switchboard. When he finished his trainee program he became my partner.

Ptl. Paul D. He was a collar, an arrest guy. Often at roll call someone would ask who’s catching. You didn’t have to ask him twice.

Ptl. Danny K. was a big Yankee fan and our best 3rd basemen on the precinct softball team.

One of the precinct characters was Sgt D. He had a VW green beetle and would come early to work and go thru the garbage. His family was in the junk business, and he once said he found a gold ingot.

Another Sergeant wanted to play 1st base for the Precinct softball team. He dropped every other throw, and  got the name “iron glove”.

Ptl. Jerry W. always put his hand over his mouth when he talked to you. I think the football and baseball coaches got it from him.

Ptl. Edwin B. asked me why I locked up his people, I told him don’t you realize you work in Harlem.

Other characters and celebs:

I soon found out that there were many more characters especially when I flew to the Central Park Precinct. One middle aged man, a former professor stands out. He went by the name Pete the parrot. He rode a bicycle and had two beautiful Macaw parrots on the handle bars. He was always enticing young police officers up to his apt, for refreshments, as he really loved cops.

We had a German Lieutenant who once asked us to take his uncle for a tour of the precinct. Later in the lunch room he said he was on the other side during WW2. He said he was in a tank and it was good while they were winning. As the war turned he had to survive on green pea soup. Finally he said his ears were still ringing as his tank ran over a land mine.

At Central Park precinct I met Otto Preminger, the Byrds, and Rocky Graziano. Met George H.W. Bush, then CIA director, at the Waldorf Hotel.

In 1979 me and my partner recovered one limousine of the Iranian Shah of Iran. Two retired detectives came to the precinct and asked if the Telex was still in the trunk. We went outside and popped the trunk and it was still there. The detectives said the Shah would be overthrown in a week, otherwise we could have retired and worked for the Iranian government.

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Precinct Personnel

 

The personnel assigned to the precinct is as follows:

The Captain
Administrative Lieutenant
Desk Lieutenants
Anti-crime sergeant
Patrol sergeants
Radio motor patrol officers
The Foot patrolman.



The Captain is the boss and has a special office.

The admin Lt runs the precinct and supervises the clerical staff, which includes communications, payroll, roll call and planning.The desk lieutenants are responsible for the 24 hour operation of the precinct.

The Anti-crime sergeant is assigned to supervise plainclothes officers to apprehend serious offenders. Note, this was the best job in the precinct but because they were too effective, the city disbanded them.

The patrol sergeants usually supervise the daily activities of both the RMP (Radio Motor Patrol) and foot patrol officers.

The RMP officers patrol the various sectors in the precinct and respond to all the radio calls for assistance. You name it, they do it.

The foot patrolman is now extinct like the buffalo, but in my day he walked posts and interacted with the Community. He was taken off his post to guard a DOA until the Medical examiner took custody or the body until it was released to a funeral director. Nobody wanted this assignment as you had to search the body, sometimes decomposed, and affix the UF95 tag. Often the foot patrolman flew to other pcts, like the 19th to guard diplomatic embassies, commonly known as fixers.

The foot patrolman was the eyes and ears of the department as he interacted with the community. Often he would be given information about criminal activity by the merchants on his post. As times changed he like the buffalo almost became extinct. As a result of 9-11 he was now assigned to anti-terrorist patrol in Manhattan and the airports and tunnels.

Eventually there would become first a terrorist task force unit of NYPD, FBI, and state investigators. Also a rapid response team was created to handle large protests. So both the foot patrol and also the RMP drivers were reduced from precinct patrol. It’s just a matter of where your priorities are.

There now is a program where off duty officers are employed for security by large corporation. Sadly one officer gave his life recently guarding the NFL headquarters building. As a young girl our Margaret worked in that building. The new mayor now wants to do away with the unit. The former mayor did away with the highly successful anti crime units for political reasons. They were too effective.

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Note: The image is of the cast of Barney Miller, the TV series that my brother considers to be the most realistic depiction of a NYPD precinct.

Assassinations

Assassinations

 

There were three important assassination attempts during this time period.

The first involved two Police officers, Curry and Benedetti of the 26th precinct which is south of the 30th. They were assigned to guard the residence of District Attorney Frank Hogan on Riverside drive. They were machine gunned down but somehow they survived but never were the same. Curry’s older brother was a seasoned homicide detective in the 30th.

Next, the deaths of Patrolman Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagiantini, Greg Foster and Rocco Laurie are similar. The two Black officers were shot in the back of their heads causing instant deaths. Also the were shot because they were Black. The two white officers were shot multiple times in both their testicles and eyes, sending a message. Eyewitness accounts recorded how the two pleaded for their lives.

Now this was the Police Department Pearl Harbor and every officer was on alert. The Chief of Detective mobilized a 100 man task force to hunt down the killers. In the Patrolman Jones and Piagiantini case which occurred in the neighboring 32nd precinct multiple arrests were made and brought to the 30th for interrogation.

As is always the case good old fashioned detective work would lead to the arrests and sometimes the deaths of these killers. I was amazed to learn that one of the killers was a former Marine who had been radicalized. Some of the members of the Black Liberation army actually lived in the 30th.

Now down the street on W. 158th Street and Broadway on December 6, 1971 there was an armed robbery of the Harlem Savings Bank by members of the Black Liberation army. This incident involved a shootout with both a 30th Precinct sergeant and his driver. We the police were now the target as described in deputy commissioner Robert Daley’s book, Target Blue.

No police officer ever considers himself or herself a hero.

The 30th Precinct is located on the west side of upper Manhattan, to the east is the 32nd Precinct. It is lower in topography and called the Valley. One day I had to bring some communications to this Precinct and when you walk in you are humbled immediately, for there are 10 memorial photos of officers who have died in the line of duty. One of the most recent was for a senior officer who used to stop in a liquor store to say good night to the owner. He was shot as the store was being robbed. Sadly he was eligible for retirement. During my 10 years at the 30th Precinct, no office died in the line of duty, also there were no memorial photos.

A check reveals that the 32nd Precinct holds the grim NYC record of 27 police officers killed in the line of duty since 1900.

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Community Service

 

   
Labor and Delivery:

In my ten years in the 30th Precinct, I was to handle almost every type of assignment. The one that stands out is the female in labor. My partner and I got that call in a snowy winter day. We had to climb 5 flights of stairs as there are no elevators on 5 story walkups. Upon entering the apt we were greeted by the entire Hispanic family and taken into the bedroom where a young female was in labor. Soon we found out that the grandmother wanted us to perform a Cesarean as she brought a boiling hot water pot with a large knife in it. I looked at my partner and wrapped a blanket about her and a kitchen chair and carried her down the 5 flights of stairs to our car. She delivered about an hour later at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. It would not be until I was a Sergeant in the 90th Precinct that I would assist a woman in a natural childbirth.

Note, I was always amazed at the faith and trust that people had in the police early in my Police career. I really don’t know when that lack of confidence occurred.

Summer Camp:

There was an area in the Precinct known as Sugar Hill. This area housed some of the most influential leaders in the Harlem community. It was part of the Harlem Renaissance which included many historical residences from the Roaring 20s.
Well there was a Sugar Hill men’s club which sponsored a trip to the Adirondacks.

Two officers were assigned to 8 male Black teenagers and were to go camping along the Saranac River. I don’t remember all the details, but I did bring my camper trailer to the site. A local forest ranger would check on us and bring us some firewood for the nightly campfire. I think we were given $500 for the trip, gas and food. we arrived on Sunday and left on Saturday.

Somehow, we survived and the program was a success. We were on duty all the time, and armed. We did not encounter any bears or ticks. The teenagers slept in pup tents and one day a raccoon came to the campfire.

I spoke with my 30th Precinct partner Kenny Mac, also a McClancy grad, who refreshed my memory, actually he was amazed about our memories.

Kenny said I cooked breakfast every morning, he remembers the bacon and eggs over the open campfire. We went to town for supplies and had sandwiches for lunch. Dinner was usually hot dogs and hamburgers. We were given sporting equipment and played football and softball. One night we took the kids to a drive-in movie. One kid said he never took a bath, so we went swimming in the river. The kids had a good time listening to my stories at the nighty campfire meeting, even then I was good at embellishing hunting stories.

It was either 1971-2 and the program lasted all summer, the police officers were given comp time for their days off. Apparently 500 dollars went a long way. Although the program was a success the city did not continue it in the following years. The Community affairs officer arranged for the Sugar Hill men’s club to sponsor the trip and provided us with an itinery, and supervision. There were no cellphones only a dime phone in town.

Christmas Party:

It was a tradition to hold the annual Christmas party at the neighboring school basketball court. This party was not only for the kids of the police officers but also for the kids in the precinct. At this party one officer P.K. played Santa, he loved Budweiser and one of my daughters said, Santa smells of beer. One of my Sergeants would bring his 8-yr old niece to sing and dance, later she became a tv star as the Nanny, Fran Drescher. I was fortunate to have many good sergeants who mentored me. ###

Fran Drescher

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Gun Safety

Gun Safety

I believe that the opening clip of Law and Order sums up what police work is really about. In that scene you see a female Police Officer rendering Aid to a victim. I thank GOD that in my 24 years I did not discharge my service revolver. However, I think there were about 5 incidents where I could have.

The following Monday after I was sworn in, I had to report to Firearms section at Rodmans Neck in the Bronx. My instructor was a Camp Perry champion and he told my class a few things. First, keep your mouth shut and ears open for what I tell you might save your life. He then put a dime on his red barreled gun and pulled the trigger 6 times without the dime falling. Next, he said, once you pull the trigger you can’t have the bullet come back. Finally, he said you only have six bullets, learn to count them. Next we were taken to the firing range for qualification and told to aim at the center of mass on the Ugly man target. We shot at different ranges and with both strong and weak hand. Finally, after certification, we were told that in most Police related shootings, you could actually touch the opponent.

Shortly after my first arrest, the Department came up with the idea of steady tours from 6pm to 2am. Me and about 15 other officers “volunteered” for this new assignment. I was given Patrol Post #4, which encompasses the Jumel Mansion. When you step off w162 st and St Nicholas Ave it’s like going back to revolutionary war times. This mansion was in the northeast section of the precinct, a relatively low crime area.

It was here on my post that I met a Black entrepreneur named Bill Bailey and his wife Mimi. He had a takeout chicken and shrimp market. His business had a plywood wall with a small takeout window and it was here I almost discharged my revolver.

As I was sitting behind the wall eating my dinner with his wife, two young men came in and said it was a robbery. I started to pull my gun and she admonished me, telling the robbers that they should not fool around as she recognized them. They never knew what danger they were in.

This post included 555 Edgecombe Ave, the former home of Joe Louis, and across the street was a staircase down to the now removed Polo Grounds. It was here that I earned the trust of the Community and one parent passed on info re. drug dealing. This led to the recovery of a kilo of heroin and the removal of a major drug dealer by the Narcotics Division

We had been taught about the dangers of the job, but there was a new phenomenon where the Police were now the targets.There is a famous gate at the rear of Columbia or City university overlooking Morningside park. Well, during the Vietnam protests me and two other officers were assigned there. All of a sudden two male Blacks rode up on bicycles and one attempted to draw a holstered gun. What he did not know was that I had a second gun on me and outdrew him, his eyes went wide open and he had an immediate Afro.

We radioed for a supervisor and upon checking found he had a plastic gun and was trying to provoke an incident. The boss said get rid of the toy and make no arrests. The perpetrator had come maybe 1-2 seconds of losing his life if he had pulled the gun. No difference from 1972 till today.

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