Cop Unions Mixed on New Governor

By REUVEN BLAU

While new Governor David A. Paterson has wide labor support, some law-enforcement unions have doubts about him largely due to a controversial bill he sponsored two years ago to limit deadly force by the police.

PATRICK J. LYNCH: Not talking about Paterson.

The shoot to harm, not to kill measure, which Mr. Paterson later disavowed, was roundly blasted by police unions. The new Governor has maintained that his stance on law-enforcement issues has been misconstrued, noting that his old roommate and close friend in Albany worked as a State Trooper.

PBA Silence Telling

Several city labor organizations were reluctant to comment on Mr. Paterson's sudden ascendancy after ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned March 12 under a cloud of controversy.

Notably, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch, who had close ties to Mr. Spitzer, declined to comment on last week's developments.

The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, however, was more welcoming. "Lt. Gov. David Paterson has continued to be supportive of Troopers and law enforcement officers," said NYS PBA President Daniel M. De Federicis in a statement. "We believe David Paterson will make an excellent Governor and will have a positive effect on law-enforcement issues."

DANIEL De FEDERICIS: 'He'll be excellent.'

The union is in the middle of contract negotiations. Mr. De Federicis said he believed those talks with the Governor's Office of Employee Relations would move forward "without any acrimony or major problems" with the new administration. "To date, the PBA has had several productive meetings with the state on this matter," he remarked. "We expect our contract negotiations to continue moving forward."

Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd, who represents the city's School Safety Agents, said that it was important to remember that there were several high-profile police shootings prior to the initial introduction of the "shoot to harm" legislation several years earlier.

'Tempers Ran High'

"There were tragedies that really occurred and tempers were really running high," Mr. Floyd said, referring to the Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond shootings in 1999 and 2000. "Normally, you would not see our Governor speak out against Police Officers or against any other law-enforcement officers."

The former hospital police officer added, "Sometimes people say things that if you look back you wish you wouldn't have said. I think people should be held responsible for what they do going forward."

Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, was also supportive of the new Governor. "I think that Governor Paterson's law-enforcement position is staunch and strong," he said during a March 14 phone interview.

The union president noted that Governor Paterson "pulled back" the legislation after protests from police groups. "I think that speaks volumes," Mr. Seabrook asserted. "He listens to all sides before making decisions on what needs to be done, as opposed to hammering away at something that you know is not popular."

Detectives Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino said he met with Mr. Paterson before the union endorsed Mr. Spitzer. "After that meeting I had a comfort level that he understood law enforcement," the union president said.

Last October, during an interview with THE CHIEF-LEADER Mr. Paterson stressed that he had supported multiple police-backed pieces of legislation and took offense at critics who claimed he was not a friend of law-enforcement.

Helped Troopers Recruit

The interview occurred after he took the unusual step of joining State Police officials to publicize the final weeks of the state's Trooper recruitment effort during a routine press conference at the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center.

But the event attracted little media attention. Mr. Paterson stood for a photo op, shook hands with Troopers in the recruitment unit, and then went back to his waiting SUV.

Outside, he took the time to discuss his personal ties to the job. "When I first moved to Albany, I roomed with a State Trooper," he said, referring to his early days as a State Senator beginning in 1985. "I learned a lot about how the State Police work."

He recalled discussing details of the State Trooper job with his old roommate, who also worked as a recruiter and retired in 1996. "We'd have those late-night talks about law-enforcement and public duty," he remembered.

As his aides encouraged him to move on, he concluded by joking about his then-title of Lieutenant Governor. "I like the word Lieutenant," he remarked. "It sounds very law-enforcement. I thought I'd take advantage."