The idea that a new
use-of-force policy and Deadly Force Review Board stocked entirely with Nassau
top cops are going to be enough to restore the public's trust in the Nassau
County Police Department is almost as unbelievable as the fact that the
department didn't already have such a panel.
Such a board, composed of
top-ranking cops, is standard in departments as large as Nassau's, so it ought
to have one. But the department is going to need a whole lot more than just
that panel.
The Nassau department's
problems are as much about its leadership as about some of the 2,200
rank-and-file cops on the street, not just because police culture is created
from the top down, but because some of the department's past leaders have
committed inappropriate, and even criminal, acts.
Commissioner Thomas Dale was
forced to resign after he had a young man, Randy White, pulled off a county bus
and arrested at the behest of Gary Melius, a powerful friend who was helping
the re-election campaign of County Executive Edward Mangano. It was Melius who
recommended Dale to Mangano.
Three other high-ranking cops
were convicted of abusing their positions to keep a police benefactor's son out
of jail.
And an investigation is
continuing over gun permits amid allegations that the department issued
licenses to people who should not have had them, including at least one
politically connected applicant with a history of domestic violence issues.
What's needed, in addition to
the new oversight from department leaders, is a second panel, a civilian review
board, that can hear, investigate and report on complaints ranging from deadly
force incidents to more everyday occurrences.
Unfortunately, the department's
shortcomings now can only truly be measured in the taxpayer dollars the county
pays out in damages after it loses lawsuits. Victims win monetary judgments
with regularity. And nothing seems to get any better.
White, who was the center of
the Dale fiasco, is now suing the department.
The family of Andrea Rebello,
the Hofstra student killed by a police officer during a robbery and
hostage-taking by an ex-convict, is suing too, claiming the county and police
are negligent in training and supervising officers and dispatchers. The suit
also claims the department is negligent because of its history of finding that
every police-involved shooting since at least 2006 has been justified.
And the latest case could come
from Kyle Howell of Westbury. The Nassau district attorney dropped assault and
other charges against Howell this week after he produced a video of the cops
beating him. Now Howell's allegations and the video are likely to be reviewed
by a grand jury to determine whether charges should be brought against the
officers.
A review board composed only of
department leaders can make every case a nest of conflicts. It's not enough.
The department also needs a panel composed of outsiders; such boards are fairly
common.
Embarrassed by Dale's
resignation in December, Mangano promised a national search for a fresh face
who would be a disciplinarian. That search has gone nowhere. Mangano needs to
find a police commissioner who can lead the culture change, one who won't be
afraid of the department being reviewed by those who don't wear a badge.
