Better-Protect Retired Cops

There is a flaw in our justice system when a thug first threatens a retired Police Captain and his family, then viciously assaults him, and his sentence to a year in prison for his crimes is praised as a "serious penalty" by the head of that Captain's union.

Captains Endowment Association President Roy Richter in making that assessment was reflecting the reality that retired cops do not get the same protection as those still on the job against retaliation by those they previously locked up. The victim in this case, ex-Capt. Charles Stravalle, six years ago had arrested his assailant, Joseph Manzi, for having a phony NYPD parking permit.

A bill introduced this spring by Queens State Sen. Frank Padavan that would make assaults on retired cops a felony — and thus permit longer prison terms — failed to advance in Albany. Captain Richter said he may ask that the bill be amended to treat such assaults as lesser felonies on the same level as assault on an active officer to improve its chances of passage.

This case amply demonstrates the need for such a bill.