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Possible Cover-Up By Cops in Fatal Crash Eyed; Charge Officer
The NYPD is probing why a sobriety test was delayed for seven hours after the 12:41 a.m. crash, and whether cops at the scene took improper steps on behalf of Police Officer Andrew Kelly, whose blood-alcohol score was zero when the test was finally administered. Said He Appeared Drunk A Lieutenant and Sergeant at the scene stated that he displayed signs of using alcohol, such as slurred speech and watery eyes, according to a criminal complaint brought by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Kelly, a seven-year veteran who is assigned to the 68th Precinct, admitted drinking that day, according to published reports, but refused to consent to a sobriety test after he ran over Vionique Valnord, 32, who was hailing a cab at the corner of Avenue N and East 56th St. Officer Kelly was taken to the 78th Precinct stationhouse while police tried to get a bench warrant following the 12:41 a.m. crash. After numerous delays, one caused by a doctor believing he needed the cop’s consent, blood was drawn at 8:02 a.m. at King County Hospital, two hours after a bench warrant compelling the test was issued. It also took almost an hour for police to bring Mr. Kelly out of the 78th Precinct stationhouse to the hospital after the warrant was obtained, according to reports. One cop at the scene, Robert McGinn, has been suspended for giving Mr. Kelly gum and two bottles of water water to help cover up the smell of alcohol. According to one report, the Internal Affairs Bureau itself waited an hour to call the District Attorney after the crash. ‘Enough for a Conviction’ Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the Brooklyn DA, said the case would go forward regardless. “We are confident we have enough circumstantial and physical evidence to lead to a conviction,” he said. The spokesman would not comment on how often the DA’s Office tries DWI cases with a zero reading on a Breathalyzer. Mr. Kelly’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told the Daily News, “To be crystalclear, Andrew wasn’t drunk. Andrew wasn’t surprised by his blood-alcohol level. He knows what he did that day. He tried to save that woman. He got her breathing, and at one point, she opened her eyes.” That account was emphatically disputed by the victim’s family. One of Officer Kelly’s passengers, Police Officer Michael Downs, was suspended for failure to promptly report that he was a cop to supervisors. A spokesman for the NYPD said that there was an active Internal Affairs investigation into the matter but declined to comment further. The spokesman would not comment on claims that Mr. Downs was told to leave the scene by a supervising officer. Lawyer: Downs Cooperating A lawyer for Mr. Downs, Stephen Worth, told the New York Times that his client was not “criminally responsible” but was cooperating with the investigation. Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch declined to comment on the case. Neither officer had faced NYPD discipline prior to their suspensions. Mayor Bloomberg promised a full investigation into the incident. “It’s a tragedy that deserves the closest of scrutiny, and if true the allegations of a DWI hit and a cover-up are reprehensible,” he told reporters. “Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has said our police officers are held to higher standards than anybody else, and the public can be assured that we will get to the bottom of this.” The Police Commissioner Oct. 1 acknowledged to reporters that it might not be possible to tell whether Police Officer Kelly was intoxicated at the time of the incident without knowing his blood-alcohol level. “There comes a point of time where. . . apparently it’s impossible to do that, but this case is going forward,” he said. Police Officer Kelly faces vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated charges. The second off-duty Police Officer, who was a passenger, has been suspended and is under investigation for leaving the scene of the accident and not immediately disclosing that he was a cop. |
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