NYPD Deputy Commissioner Reznick

[MikeSantos]

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...icle-1.1699402








The NYPD's new chief of Internal Affairs allegedly referred to a detective as a "rat" for reporting police misconduct, the Daily News has learned.


The bombshell charge against Assistant Chief Joseph Reznick is part of a federal lawsuit filed by retired first-grade Det. James Griffin, who claims he suffered retaliation for blowing the whistle on his 83rd Precinct colleagues when they pressured him to help thwart an internal investigation.


Another retired NYPD detective, who is not a party in the suit, submitted a sworn affidavit also stating Griffin was openly disparaged as a rat by colleagues, a lieutenant and Reznick.


"On at least one occasion while I was in the office of then-Deputy Chief Joseph Reznick during a discussion concerning the amount of overtime being worked by detectives at Queens Cold Case Squad, Reznick referred to Mr. Griffin as a 'rat,'" retired Det. Michael Carrano said in the May 6, 2013, affidavit obtained by The News.





Reznick, a 40-year-veteran of the force, was tapped by Police Commissioner William Bratton to be the department's top watchdog. As the head of IAB, he oversees investigations of criminality and serious misconduct by cops, and depends on officers to report wrongdoing. He also leads a confidential squad of cops known as field associates who function as the eyes and ears of the bureau out in the field.


Reznick did not respond to a request for comment. The NYPD declined to comment on the case because it's an active lawsuit.


A high ranking police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Reznick was vetted before he was selected for IAB.



Retired NYPD first-grade Det. James Griffin says in a lawsuit that Assistant Chief Joseph Reznick, newly named head of Internal Affairs, once called him a 'rat' for blowing the whistle on colleagues trying to thwart an internal investigation.


"His integrity was not questioned," the official said. "Joe Reznick was selected for his vast experience and his well-recognized investigative capabilities, which are essential to IAB."


The NYPD's new top cop wants to shift IAB's focus towards rooting out corruption and serious misbehavior, instead of minor rule-breaking, the official said.


Legendary NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico said the allegation that Reznick used the R-word is disturbing.


"If these are the facts, I don't know if anybody would feel comfortable coming forward with information," Serpico said. "I wouldn't recommend anyone coming forward if they valued their career."


"The system, in my opinion, has never changed," Serpico added. "Serpico was a rat because Serpico did what you're not supposed to do — 'You don't tell on another cop.'"


Reznick was deposed under oath by Griffin's lawyers in 2012 before the affidavit was filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. In his deposition, Reznick claimed that when Griffin arrived in the cold case squad in 2006 he knew nothing about the detective's prior problems at the 83d Precinct, where the word "RAT" had been scrawled on his locker.



Retired NYPD Capt. Sean ******* (far left), is another defendant in retired first-grade Det. James Griffin's lawsuit claiming he was subjected to retaliation for reporting colleagues for allegedly pressuring him to help derail an internal probe. (Thomas Monaster)


Griffin accused the chief of joining in the retaliation by shutting down his overtime, and by blocking his requests to attend specialized training courses and transfer to another command.


Reznick has denied those allegations.


Retired Capt. Sean *******, who is also being sued, testified in his deposition that he curtailed Griffin's overtime after discussing the issue with Reznick, but insisted the reason was Griffin had been putting in too many hours without solving any cold cases.


Griffin had made more than 1,000 arrests before he was assigned to the cold case squad, where he claims he was saddled with "unsolvable" cases.


Griffin claims he tried several times to discuss the overtime issue with Reznick over the phone but the chief hung up on him repeatedly.


"That's not my character ... I don't abruptly hang up on nobody," Reznick testified at the deposition.



NYPD Commissioner William (Bill) Bratton wants to shift the Internal Affairs Bureau's focus towards rooting out corruption and serious misbehavior instead of minor rule-breaking, a high-ranking official says. (David Handschuh/New York Daily News)


Lawyers for Griffin and the city held talks to settle the suit last week and are scheduled to meet again April 1, according to court documents.


Griffin's lawyer Alexander Coleman said Reznick's appointment to IAB is filled with irony.


"Here you have someone being considered to run the agency that investigates police officer misconduct, while at least in Mr. Griffin's case there is overwhelming evidence in the record that this same person labeled Mr. Griffin a rat and played a large part in ruining his career for having the courage to report fellow officer misconduct," Coleman said.


Griffin was hounded out of the 83d Precinct after he had refused to take the fall for Brooklyn Det. Michael O'Keefe, who had failed to interview the victim of an assault before he died, the suit claims.


Reznick testified that he knew O'Keefe because they both worked in the 34th Precinct, where O'Keefe was involved in a justified but controversial 1991 shooting of a drug dealer that triggered rioting in Washington Heights.


Griffin is suing the city, Reznick, *******, former 105th Precinct squad commander Michael Miltenberg and detectives' union official Anthony Cardinale.

[MikeSantos]

http://thechiefleader.com/news/news_of_the_week/city-pays-g-to-ex-detective/article_f251d8f4-c3e5-11e3-bce2-0017a43b2370.html



A retired NYPD Detective who charged he was labeled a “rat” by colleagues and bosses, including the new three-star Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, gained $280,000 worth of cheese last week when he settled his lawsuit against the city.

James E. Griffin, who attained First-Grade rank before leaving the department in 2009, said his problems began in 2005 when his partner failed to interview a stabbing victim before he died.

Wouldn’t Take the Rap

According to his lawsuit, a Detectives Endowment Association delegate, Kevin McCarthy, asked him to assume blame for the mistake, saying that if he refused to do so the other Detectives in the squad would blame him anyway.

Mr. Griffin’s partner was Detective Michael O’Keefe, who in 1992 shot Jose (Kiko) Garcia, a low-level member of a drug gang, in upper Manhattan, during a struggle as Mr. Garcia was pointing a gun at him. Two witnesses claimed Mr. O’Keefe, unprovoked, began beating the suspect with a radio and then shot him as he lay on the floor. Rioting followed.

Eventually, the witnesses were found to be lying because of contradictory statements and physical evidence, and a grand jury declined to indict Mr. O’Keefe. But news reports speculated that some Detectives believed him vulnerable because of this history and wanted Mr. Griffin, who had a clean record, to take the blame.

Went to IAB on Request

Mr. Griffin reported Mr. McCarthy’s request to IAB. Less than a month after he did so, the word “rat” was scrawled on his locker and other Detectives refused to work with him, according to a memo filed in 2012 by U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie that summarized arguments in the case.

Mr. Griffin was transferred to the Cold Case Squad, then under the command of Joseph Reznick, whom Police Commissioner William J. Bratton recently named Chief of Internal Affairs.

“From the beginning of plaintiff’s time on the Cold Case Squad until his transfer around October 2007, Reznick engaged in a string of allegedly retaliatory actions,” the memo said. They included loading him up with unsolvable cases, denying him overtime and expense reimbursements, and refusing his request to transfer to the 105th Precinct, according to the memo.

‘Called Him a Rat’

An affidavit filed in the case by another retired Detective, Michael Carrano, said, “On at least one occasion while I was in the office of then-Deputy Chief Joseph Reznick during a discussion concerning the amount of overtime being worked by detectives at Queens Cold Case Squad, Reznick referred to Mr. Griffin as a ‘rat,’’’ according to the Daily News.

Mr. Reznick declined to comment on the case, and an NYPD source told the News that “his integrity was not questioned” during the review of his career that preceded his promotion to IAB.

Mr. Griffin was transferred to the 111th Squad and then to the 105th, where “the word ‘rat’ was written on plaintiff’s hole-puncher and in May 2009, plaintiff’s locker was vandalized and pictures were deleted from his personal camera,” Judge Dearie’s memo said.

At a staff meeting, the squad commander, Lieut. Michael Miltenberg, “stared directly at plaintiff and stated that ‘there’s a rat in here, not someone who retired or transferred but sitting right here in this room,’’’ according to the memo.

“Plaintiff alleges that as a direct result of Miltenberg’s actions, all of plaintiff’s colleagues refused to work and/or speak to plaintiff,” the memo said. “Soon after this meeting, on July 25, 2009, plaintiff decided he had had enough and left the NYPD.”

'Living This Nightmare'

After the settlement, Mr. Griffin’s attorney, Alexander Coleman, said his client “has been living this nightmare for the better part of a decade. No amount of money can undo that past. This settlement, from his perspective, is about trying to move on with his life.”

The city Department of Law noted that a settlement does not impute blame to either party and said the action was “in the best interests of the city.”