Over Terror Comments: Wrap P.D. Trial Of An In-House Critic

Over Terror Comments
Wrap P.D. Trial Of An In-House Critic

By REUVEN BLAU

The NYPD Feb. 24 concluded its internal disciplinary hearing against Capt. Eric Adams, whom it brought charges against for publicly criticizing the department's handling of a terrorist threat and divulging details of police deployment in the subways.

ERIC ADAMS: Says spite is behind charges. Captain Adams, who founded and heads the civil rights group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, faces the loss of 45 days' pay if the charges are substantiated.

Sees A Set-Up

Mr. Adams questioned the department's timing, noting that he is set to retire March 17 and recently filed complaints against Paul J. Browne, the Deputy Commissioner for Public Information.

"I guess on my way out the door they said, 'We can't let this guy leave,''' Mr. Adams remarked in a Feb. 24 phone interview, "because I've been doing this for years. Why now?" A decision in his disciplinary case is expected in April.

Norman Siegel, Mr. Adams's attorney, contended during the three-day departmental trial that his client was merely exercising his First Amendment free speech rights when he appeared on a WCBS-TV program hosted by Marcia Kramer last Oct. 14.

He stressed that Mr. Adams was speaking on behalf of his civil rights group and therefore didn't need prior permission from the department.

While the city doesn't have a comprehensive media policy for all its employees, the NYPD has stringent rules restricting officers from discussing job-related issues with the press. The department instructs its personnel to obtain permission from the Deputy Commissioner for Public Information's Office before speaking with journalists.

Political Diversion?

Captain Adams, who has been a frequent critic of the department throughout his 22-year career, suggested on the show that the city released information about a terrorism threat to divert media attention away from Mayor Bloomberg's reelection campaign's decision to not attend a candidates' debate that same evening at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

During the subsequent interview with Mr. Kramer, Mr. Adams said that the NYPD waited over three days to deploy officers to safeguard subway stations. "They were given the information on Monday, and nothing was done until Thursday afternoon," Mr. Adams said last week.

NYPD attorneys defended the department's response to the threat and contended at the trial that hundreds of officers were deployed to guard potential targets. The city waited to publicize the threat until after Federal authorities finished pursuing all their leads overseas.

The NYPD has also charged Mr. Adams, who is an executive officer at the 6th Precinct in Greenwich Village, with giving the public wrong information regarding the police operation.

'Cops Were in Dark'

Mr. Adams, who plans to run in Brooklyn for a State Senate seat after he retires, said that NYPD anti-terrorism officials were unaware that the threat involved carrying a bomb onto the subway in a baby stroller.

"While the cops were on post trying to protect the subway system, they were never given the specific information that would have assisted them in trying to protect the system," he contended.

The NYPD, he added, has not disclosed who filed the complaint against him, as it traditionally does at such hearings.

Mr. Adams's case, Mr. Siegel asserted, could affect all NYPD officers. "The Police Department argued that free speech is not a luxury," he said, referring to the NYPD's closing arguments. "That made this a case not only for Eric Adams, but for all Police Officers regarding their freedom of speech."