Clad in hoods, with faces partially obscured, four Latino New York City Police officers announced yesterday that they have been the victims of discrimination and harassment on the job.
“They’ve reached a point where they can’t tolerate it any more,” said Rafael N. Collazo, president of the National Latino Officers’ Association (NLOA), in a press conference at New York Police Department headquarters.
According to NLOA’s charges, the officers are racially assaulted with Sergeant Michael Patrone crude epithets against Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians.
The hostile environment is being created by Sergeant Patrone, according to Collazo. One of the incidents occurred when the sergeant asked to examine one of the officer’s gun, saying he wanted to verify the serial number. Patrone handled the gun, a loaded black 9mm automatic, and then pointed the gun at the officer, terrorizing him, who subsequently complained to his superiors.
Offensive words were also found scrawled on the officers’ lockers – such as “rat” – and bullets left in the lockers or the padlocks have sometimes been vandalized.
“Patrone is placing these officers in danger and creating an atmosphere full of hostility in the station where he works,” said Collazo.
According to Collazo, the officers’ fear comes from the fact that Patrone’s superiors stripped him of his gun and shield in January 2005, when Patrone was admitted to a hospital for emotional problems. When he returned to work at the same station, Patrone was assigned to administrative tasks since he was considered a danger to himself and others.
“The Latino Officers’ Association has a history of making false charges against members of the Police Department,” said a statement by Paul Brown, deputy commissioner in the NYPD’s Office of Public Information. “This is another example of their intention to smear the reputation of a highly esteemed veteran sergeant.”
The NYPD Press Office limited itself to providing this statement about the press conference, but it neither confirmed nor denied the allegations concerning Sergeant Patrone.
One of the reasons the officers did not speak with the press is that they do not want to interfere with the investigation. Besides, they fear the hostile environment in which they work could worsen, or that they could be transferred to other units, according to the association’s president. He also said that some changes are already apparent, like being taken off of undercover work and forced to wear uniforms and do regular patrols, and the entries in their log books were checked in greater detail, added Collazo.
“What we are seeking is for Commissioner Raymond Kelly to do something about the Sergeant (Patrone), because the harassment is not only of these four officers, but of others as well,” Collazo stated.
