Fire Future DWI Cops

"Danielle is not a demon."

"Danielle is not [an] uncaring, irresponsible, drunken party animal."

The statements, attributed in the Daily News to two cops from the 103rd Precinct, amounted to a eulogy for the police career of rookie cop Danielle Baymack, who crashed her car Sept. 22, killing one of her passengers, fellow Police Officer Marlene Rivera.

Officer Baymack, who pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, allegedly had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08. Regardless of how the criminal case against her is resolved, her career as a cop is surely over just a few months after it began. Even if she weren't a probationary officer who could be fired without a hearing, it's impossible to imagine the NYPD keeping her on the job.

She was said to have been grief-stricken when she learned while being treated at a Long Island hospital that her friend and fellow rookie had died in the one-car crash. When she returned home, she covered her head, in the prototypical pose of a perp, to keep her face from being photographed by the news media.

Right now, Officer Baymack is more perp than cop. That ought to be literally sobering, and more than a bit chilling, to any police officer who might be inclined to regard what happened as just a little too much drinking by a colleague who was going to be driving. It is often said that cops drink as a way of dealing with the stress of their jobs. There is no question that a drink or two can relax a person and help to dissipate emotional tension. But a drink or two doesn't ordinarily put you over the legal limit for alcohol consumption; DWI cases result when someone doesn't know when to stop.

It's time that the NYPD applies sanctions with clear consequences for going over the line. There is no reason that a DWI should be a forgivable offense for a cop when that same officer would be automatically fired if he or she tested positive for marijuana or cocaine, even if they didn't drive afterwards.

In the interest of public safety, and preserving the lives of future Marlene Riveras and any civilians who might be casualties of recklessness by officers sworn to uphold the law, we believe Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should make a DWI conviction automatic grounds for firing.