After 3 Crossed Line: School Cops on 'Conflicts' Law

After 3 Crossed Line

School Cops on 'Conflicts' Law

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

The city's Conflicts of Interest Board April 13 released the details of an agreement with the Police Department that calls for the NYPD to invest more effort in ensuring compliance with the Conflicts of Interest Law among its members.

MARK DAVIES: Cops reached out and touched. The agreement came about after a board investigation found that three NYPD employees, two active and one retired, accepted valuable gifts from a city vendor. Although the names of the employees weren't made public as part of the settlement, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly released a letter outlining training steps that will be given to NYPD members.

Gratuities From Verizon

Mark Davies, Executive Director of the Conflicts of Interest Board, said he was "pleased that Commissioner Kelly has committed the Police Department's resources to educating its employees about the Conflicts of Interest Law. We look forward to working with the Police Department to accomplish the plan of action set forth in the letter." The board investigation revealed the three NYPD members in 2004 accepted several dinners and other gifts from Verizon Communications.

At the time the gifts were accepted, Verizon was engaged in business dealings with the city and the NYPD, and all three employees were involved.

Commissioner Kelly told the board that the employees would be disciplined, even though he also noted that prior to accepting the gifts, they had been told by a supervisor that it was in the NYPD's best interest for them to improve the working relationship between Verizon and the department.

He said they might have misunderstood the scope of the supervisor's remarks and that the supervisor probably failed to advise the employees to refrain from conduct that would violate the Conflicts of Interest Law.

Golf and Baseball

The gifts received included several dinners costing between $500 and $2,100, two golf outings, one of which cost $2,100, and an outing to a season-opening game for the Yankees that cost nearly $1,900.

Accepting gifts valued at more than $50 - and from persons whose business interests could be affected by the employees' actions - violated two parts of the City Charter, the board said.

As part of the agreement, the NYPD agreed to send all of its personnel who have significant contact with city vendors to periodic training and education sessions conducted by the Conflict of Interests Board. To maintain a record of attendance, employees will have to sign in at each session.

The board will conduct "trainer sessions" for NYPD officials, who will then provide training and education to other NYPD staff.

All new recruits will get training on this subject in the Police Academy.

Tailored to Job

The NYPD will work with the board's staff to help design and produce video and electronic training tools, such as a training film on DVD and an interactive web-based training program that will specifically address conflict-of-interest issues frequently encountered by NYPD personnel. Written guidelines on the city's regulations about gifts will be distributed to NYPD employees who work with vendors and to vendors who work with the NYPD. Additionally, the department will be responsible for educating its vendors on the provisions of the Conflicts of Interest Law relevant to dealing with departmental personnel.