NYC NOW - April 18, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: April 18, 2023

A police watchdog agency now says the NYPD’s top uniformed officer abused his authority in 2021 when he intervened in the arrest of a retired officer who chased a 12-year-old and two young teenagers in Brownsville – allegedly while carrying a gun. The Civilian Complaint Review Board’s finding against Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey is rare – mostly because of Maddrey’s high rank. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Yoav Gonen, a reporter who’s been covering this story for the news website The City.

Good evening and welcome to NYC Now. I'm Michael Hill for WNYC. A police watchdog agency now says the NYPD's top uniformed officer abused his authority in 2021 when he intervened in the arrest of a retired officer who had chased a 12-year-old and two young teenagers in Brownsville, allegedly while carrying a gun. The civilian complaint review board's finding against Chief of Department Jeffrey Madre is rare, mostly because of Madri's high rank. Here to speak with us about what this finding means for New Yorkers is Joav Gonen, a reporter who has been covering this story for the news website,

the city. That interview after the break. Yoav Gonen, thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. To start with, would you describe the 2021 incident that led to this finding? Sure. So what happened that night was those three kids were walking down the street, carrying a basketball. One of them threw the ball at a storefront security camera that they later learned belonged to a retired police officer. And after the ball hit the camera, he pursued them in the neighborhood down several blocks. The pursuit lasted about seven minutes. So it was a long pursuit. And at one or two points during the chase, the kids said that he pulled a gun at them, and then they ended up running away and calling the police. Initially, he got arrested,

but as you mentioned, with the intervention of Chief Madri, who showed up at the police precinct where this retired officer was taken, within about 90 minutes of Chief Madry showing up, this ex-officer was released, and his arrest was voided. What can you tell us about Madder? We've often heard him on Morning Edition talking about different incidents in the city. What's his reputation? Has he been accused of wrongdoing before? He has. I, you know, I'd say it's a mixed record. I do hear he's been working out of Brooklyn for a long time, and there's plenty of elected officials in Brooklyn who say that he's always been reachable, always been helpful. But he has had some prior history with discipline, including a case.

where he was punished 45 vacation days. He lost those days. He was actually investigated by the Internal Affairs Bureau, and that had to do with an incident where he got into physical altercation with a woman who said the two of them were having an affair, and she allegedly pulled a gun on him at some point, and essentially he was accused of covering that incident on.

The young people he chased recently told their side of the story in an interview in Hot 97 FM. Here's a clip of one of the teens recounting the experience to host Ebro Darden. He chased us for seven minutes who was the worst time of my life. I was scared. With his gun out? Hmm? With his gun out?

Yeah, with his gun out. I thought I wouldn't make it home to my mom. I was scared for my life. Tell us more about what they said. Yeah, they said a number of things. And I think one thing people forget because they hear kind of menacing. with a gun is a misdemeanor, it might seem like relatively not a severe crime, but from the perspective of these kids, obviously, it's a very traumatic and horrifying experience to be at the

opposite end of a pointed gun. The other thing they said was, you know, they have kind of watched as agency after agency has given a stamp of approval for Madre's behavior, that the Internal Affairs Bureau cleared him of any wrongdoing, the Brooklyn District. attorney office found no criminality. And then Mayor Eric Adams said he fully supports Madri and that Madri acted appropriately. So they said, you know, they were really disappointed that in the case of three young black teenagers against a retired officer, it seemed to them like everyone was taking the police aside. Now, Madri could lose 10 vacation days for this. Is that all that's at stake? I would say so. There are some options for the police commissioner. She has unilateral authority to really impose any discipline, and they always do weigh mitigating and aggravating factors. His high rank and his prior discipline could potentially lead to a higher penalty, although I think it's doubtful. But I think as far as the kids are concerned, just kind of the affirmation.

that what they say happened happened, I think there is some validation there for them. Yoav Gowin is a senior reporter for the news website, the city. Yoav, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Happy to be here. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. We'll be back tomorrow.