DEA Alleges IAB Chief Violated Detective's Rights After Shooting
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
The Detectives Endowment Association July 30 filed an improper practice complaint with the Office of Collective Bargaining over the suspension of an off-duty Detective who failed a sobriety test after he fired back at a gunman.

MICHAEL J. PALLADINO: 'Improper zeal' by IAB Chief.

Retaliation Against Union?

DEA President Michael J. Palladino alleged that NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau Chief Charles V. Campisi suspended Det. Ivan Davison in retaliation for the union vigorously opposing Mr. Campisi's order to move the hospitalized officer. The union leader said two of his delegates objected to the transfer of Mr. Davison, who was being treated for high blood pressure, until he was stabilized. Mr. Campisi ordered the Detective to report to another facility for alcohol testing after he registered .09 on a portable Breathalyzer, a hair over the legal limit for driving of .08.

"If you refuse to go, you will be suspended," Mr. Campisi said according to the complaint.

"You know what — go get a warrant," Mr. Palladino, who arrived after the dispute began, recalls saying.

CHARLES V. CAMPISI: An aggressive response.

On July 13, Detective Davison, a 15-year veteran of the department, was leaving a club in St. Albans, Queens, when he observed an assault and intervened. One of the attackers pulled out a Tech-9 and fired at the Detective, who returned fire with his off-duty weapon, hitting the man in the leg and arm, police said. The Detective was sent to Jamaica Hospital because of high blood pressure. Mr. Palladino fought in the middle of the night to allow Mr. Davison to be seen by a doctor. "We're not refusing a Breathalyzer," he told Chief Campisi. "Let him get treated. His pressure was sky-high."

Policy Spurred by Bell Case

Detective Davison was the first officer to fail a sobriety test that became standard for all cops who fired their weapons and hit somebody after Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly instituted it last September as a reaction to the 2006 Sean Bell shooting. In that case, the Detective who touched off the fatal confrontation admitted that as part of his undercover role he had a couple of drinks at the nightclub outside which the shooting took place.

Mr. Palladino contended in the complaint that Chief Campisi tried to lay a guilt trip on him, saying "union guys are supposed to help their people, not get them in trouble" and "you're going to get this guy suspended."

The union also accuses the IAB head of attempting to have Detective Davison waive his medical rights and sign out of the hospital. The Detective remained in the hospital and was suspended by the NYPD. Search warrants were obtained for his blood and his car. "The moment he blew a .09 the entire focus changed from what really occurred and who was really the perpetrator to 'the Detective is the perpetrator,''' Mr. Palladino said. The union leader said he was most interested in what the NYPD said in court to get the two warrants. "It was egregious and irresponsible," he said, adding that Mr. Davison was not in his car during the shooting.

As public outcry mounted, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly reversed his position on the Detective — he initially lifted the suspension but placed him on modified duty — by reinstating him three days after the shooting and lauding him as a hero.

Mr. Palladino said Detective Davison was not disobeying a direct order but rather wanted to receive appropriate medical attention. He charged that Mr. Campisi interfered with the administration of the union and discriminated against the Detective.

'Interfered With Union Rights'

"Chief Campisi, as the commanding officer of the Internal Affairs Bureau, in his improper zeal to lock in Davison with an appropriate alcohol reading without fully investigating what actually transpired, interfered with the exercise of rights guaranteed to public employees," the complaint charged.

The DEA asked the OCB to order the Police Department to post notices "in applicable places" that Mr. Campisi violated labor law in suspending Det. Davison.

An NYPD spokesman declined to comment on the union's complaint.