Off Duty NYC Police Detective Shoots Suspect While Drunk
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC called a shooting by an off duty and drunk policeman over the weekend, appropriate action.
A 42 year old unnamed NYC Police Detective has been placed on temporary modified duties after he was involved in an off duty shooting incident over the weekend. The detective was tested for alcohol after the shooting, and he blew a 0.09 - which is slightly over the legal limit of 0.08.
The detective was off duty at the time of the shooting. He saw a fight and intervened and one of the combatants, Stephon Allston, 22, fired at him with an automatic pistol. The detective returned fire and wounded Allston in the arm and leg.
Police are now tested for alcohol after any shooting incident, which is a policy change sparked by the fatal shooting by police of Sean Bell outside of a strip club. The officers were alleged to have been drinking at the time of that shooting. The unnamed officer involved in last weekend's shooting is the seventh to have been tested for alcohol since the implementation of the new policy, and the first to have been found intoxicated.
Asked about the incident, Mayor Bloomberg said that the officer, "saw something where people's lives were threatened and he took appropriate action to stop that. I think the officer acted correctly."
Several police unions have challenged in federal courts the requirement of testing officers for alcohol, and many say that it sends the wrong message to police in their communities. Pat Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Union said, "Among its problems is that it fails to take real-life police situations into account, it sends a message to off-duty officers not to get involved in crime-fighting and prevention."
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