Tuesday, July 27, 2004

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER!
 
Congratulations!  And Lots of Luck!  Are extended to Lt. EDDIE LOTT and his lovely wife, Lt. DEBRA LOTT, on the birth of their second daughter, ELIZABETH ASHLEY LOTT.

Eddie, the Squad Commander of the 73 Squad, and his wife Debra, of the 94 Precinct, welcomed the newborn on July 10, 2004.  Weighing on at 8lbs 12 oz, we are happy to report all are home and doing very well.

 
THE DEPARTMENT MEDAL

From 1889 to 1911, the department awarded a medal known as the Department Medal, or �Medal of Honor�.

On January 15, 1889, the Board of Police Commissioners made Honorable Mention in the minutes of the board meeting and awarded a Department Medal to Ptl. John Meagher of the Steamboat Squad for his rescue of a man who had jumped into the North River.  This medal was previously known as the Honorable Mention Badge.  After 1889 the medal was known as the Department Medal, or a Medal of Honor.

Although not always done so, some commissioners, in particular Theodore Roosevelt, would have a formal presentation ceremony at Headquarters.

 

MULTIPLE AWARDS OF THE MEDAL OF HONOR

Since the modern medal era came into being in 1915, when the name of the highest NYPD award �The Department Medal� was changed to �The Medal of Honor�, only three members of the NYPD have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.

The first multiple award was to Detective Timothy J. Connell who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1922, after he was wounded during a shootout in which he killed a hold-up man.  He also received a posthumous award of the medal in 1926, after he was killed in another shootout with four criminals in 1924.

The second multiple award was to Detective John Cordes.  He received the medal in 1924 after a shootout in which he was wounded five times during a stickup in a store.  He received it again in 1928 for a second shootout.

The third recipient was PO Robert Bilodeau, Street Crime Unit, who was awarded the medal twice, posthumously, at the 1981 Medal Day Ceremony.  The first award was for an incident on April 5, 1979, when while making an arrest his throat was slashed, an injury that required 63 stitches to heal.  The second award was for an incident on February 12, 1980, when he chased a gunman into an alleyway.  The gunman turned and shot Bilodeau three times.  Before he died he was able to wound his assailant.

 
CORRECTION NOTED: ROUNDSMAN DONOHUE

On my last posting of "In Memoriam" I listed an entry as Ptl. Donohue, as that is how he is listed on the NYPD Memorial site. 

The correct rank, however, is Roundsman. A Roundsman was equivalent to today�s rank of Sergeant.  The details of Roundsman Donohue�s death is noted below.  Thanks again to Ret. Det1 John Reilly for his noticing this discrepancy, and correcting it. 

Noting the entry recently regarding police whistles, John Reilly added the following on this topic as well.

When he came on the job in 1955 all MOS had to carry two whistles, one a traffic whistle and one a police whistle.

Although he can't ever remember using the police whistles to summon help, he does recall that  the top end of the whistle had a round shank which you hooked onto your belt. The big problem he recalls is that the end shank would break off and you had to get a new whistle.  He thinks that this was the main reason for discontinuing them � probably that and the fact that using the whistle to summon aid was fast obsolete.

 
IN THE LINE OF DUTY: ROUNDSMAN JOHN DONOHUE � 1872

On July 11, 1872, Roundsman John Donohue of Brooklyn�s 5th Precinct (the current 94 Precinct) was killed in the line of duty.

At about 1:00 am on the morning of July 7, 1872, on North First Street, near Union Avenue, Brooklyn, the �Battle-Row Gang� ambushed Rdsman Donohue. For some time there had been bad feeling between the gang and Rdsman Donohue because he had arrested some of them for various crimes.

During the early hours of July 7th, the gang had been in a whisky shop drinking and was overheard plotting to start a disturbance, which would bring Donohue to the area. One of the leaders of the gang, Henry Rodgers, had stated that when Donohue came he �would kill him.� The disturbance was created and when Donohue responded to disperse them the whole gang attacked him. 

Witnesses testified that they saw Rodgers with an oak bar and that he struck the officer on the back of his head. The gang left the officer lying on the sidewalk insensible. Rdsman Donohue was removed to the Brooklyn City Hospital where he was treated for injuries to his brain. He died at the hospital on July 11, 1872.

Donohue was married and had two young children. A funeral service for Roundsman John Donohue was held on July 14, 1872 at the Church of St. Peter and Paul, 2nd Street, Williamsburg. The funeral cortege consisted of about 300 police officers, the Mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen, the family and friends riding in some seventy carriages. Interment of the body was in Calvary Cemetery. The murderer of Rdsman Donohue, Henry Rodgers, was convicted of the crime of murder on Oct. 22, 1872 and executed by hanging on Dec. 6, 1872 at the Raymond Street Jail, Brooklyn.                                                                                                                             

 
INTERESTING WEB SITES

CHANGE DETECTION.COMHere's a useful website I recently stumbled across: www.changedetection.com.

It's a free service that let's you monitor a website for changes. You enter the web address and your email address and when a change occurs, you'll be notified.

 
�LEST WE FORGET�� THE NYPD MEMORIAL

July 20, 1857    Ptl Eugene Anderson, 14 Pct, Shot:Burglary in progress
July 20, 1964    Ptl John Polarolo, Harbor, Auto accident on patrol
July 21, 1950    Ptl Alfred Loreto, 24 Pct, Shot:Off duty pursuit
July 22, 1921    Ptl Charles Potter, 27 Pct, Drowned during rescue
July 22, 1922    Ptl Arthur Loewe, 78 Pct, Shot:Robbery in progress
July 22, 1983    PO James Rowley, Aviation, Helicopter accident
July 23, 1983    PO Charles Trojahn, Aviation, Helicopter accident
July 24, 1876    Sgt James McGiven, 17 Pct, Stabbed, Robbery
July 24, 1951    Ptl Albert Polite, 94 Pct, Motorcycle accident
July 24, 1971    Ptl Robert Denton, 73 Pct, Stabbed during investigation
July 26, 1923    Ptl Frank Romanella, 29 Pct, Shot during investigation
July 26, 1923    Ptl Charles Reynolds, 116 Pct, Shot
July 26, 1924    Ptl John Hyland, 42A Pct, Shot:Robbery in progress
July 26, 1957    Ptl Edward O�Leary, 7 Div, Auto accident transporting prisoner
July 27, 1942    Ptl Michael Keene, Traffic A, Auto accident on patrol
July 27, 1950    Ptl Roderick O�Connor, Mcy2, Motorcycle accident on patrol
July 27, 1964    Ptl Richard Walburger, 9 Pct, Shot:Burglary in progress
July 28, 1929    Ptl William Kerlin, ESU, Auto accident on patrol
July 28, 1930    Ptl Dominick Caviglia, 20 Pct, Shot:Burglary in progress
July 28, 1930    Det Thomas Hill, 48 Sq, Shot during investigation
July 29, 1906    Ptl William Hederman, 35 Pct, Drowned during rescue
July 30, 1945   Ptl Howard Hegerich, 28 Pct, shot during investigation
July 31, 1947   Ptl William Panczyk, Traffic Unit, Auto accident on patrol
July 31, 1965   Ptl. Maifland Mercer, 76 Pct, Shot-off duty arrest

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

SOME WISDOM FROM WILL ROGERS�

Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco

There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.



DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION: FROM RATTLE TO TELEGRAPH

When this department was in its infancy, back in 1651, the first people involved in the job of law enforcement were citizens selected as "watchmen" who would patrol their neighborhoods at night.

If the watchmen needed assistance, they would simply twirl a wooden ratchet or "rattle" that they carried; hence their tour of duty became known as the "Rattle Watch".

Ninety years later, watchmen turned in their rattle for a bell and a lantern, making it much easier for other members of the public to find them at night. The "bellmen", as they were then called, also carried an hourglass, as they were required to inform the public of the time every hour which not only made it easier for the public to find them, but it also proved that they were still awake.

As New York City grew, this primitive method of using a hand-held bell to summon assistance became outdated, and a better system was needed. It was therefore no surprise that when the Municipal Police - which later became the NYPD - was officially founded in 1845, that one of the first orders of business was to adopt the latest miracle of technology, the telegraph.

Becoming an instant success, the precincts now had the ability to communicate directly with Headquarters, but the cop on the street had to wait until 1885 before the first telegraphic signal boxes would be installed on the streets.

Once the experimental boxes were installed in the Bronx, patrolman, using Morse Code, were able to contact the precinct in a matter of seconds, and the desk lieutenant could now be alerted of emergencies in the field, such as a fire. Required to carry a signal box key at all times, patrolmen also carried a code book and originally rang the precinct at whatever frequency the duty captain ordered. A selected group of "responsible citizens" were also given signal box keys, and trained on using the boxes to call for assistance in the absence of a patrolman. Later, patrolman were required to signal the precinct three times each tour. By the end of 1892, a total of 34 signal boxes had been installed in these test precincts which, over the course of the year had facilitated the transmission of over 121,000 signals.


WHEN DID POLICE OFFICERS START USING WHISTLES?

Whistles began to be used because police officers needed a way to signal other officers on near-by posts.

Carved wooden whistles were used as early as 1854, and by 1860, the "pea" whistle (a cast lead casing with a small dried pea inside to give a "warble" sound) was in use. Up until that time, signaling was done by hitting a curbstone, wall or ash can lid with the nightstick, or even firing off a pistol shot.

Around 1889, the tubular whistle used by the British "Bobbies" came into use by the N.Y.P.D. because it was very loud and had a distinctive sound. The tubular whistle was retired from Department use in 1959 because improved electronic communications available to police officers made it unnecessary. However, the "traffic" whistle was retained in service and is the one and only whistle used by the N.Y.P.D. today.


REGRETFUL ANNOUNCEMENT

I am saddened to report that Retired Capt. Gerald Howard, 49 yrs of age passed away on Sun. 7/11/2004.

Jerry was appointed to the NYC Transit Police Dept. on 9/4/80, serving first in District 33 on patrol before being promoted. Viewing, at Macken Mortuary, 52 Clinton Ave. Rockville Center, NY were Tuesday July 13 and Wednesday July 14. A Funeral Mass will be said at St. Agnes, R.C. Church--Rockville Centre on Thursday July 15, 10:00am.

I remember many days on patrol as a rookie cop with Jerry, and always enjoyed his very dry wit and humor. He ended his career with a return to District 33, his roots, as its Commanding Officer. God bless, Jerry.


LAW ENFORCEMENT PUBLICATIONS

Here are some law enforcement publications made available through the National Criminal Justice Resources:
"Forensic Examination of Digital Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement" (92 pp.) (NCJ 199408) is for members of the law enforcement community who are responsible for the examination of digital evidence. Second in a series of guides on investigation of electronic crime; see also "Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement" at:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/187736.htm. (NIJ)

You may access the full text at:
http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/199408.txt or http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/199408.pdf

New COPS Publication Available: "Policing Smarter through IT: Learning from Chicago's Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR) System" (104 pp.) (NCJ 205698) examines "launch procedures" toward developing an integrated criminal justice information system powered by the CLEAR data warehouse and lessons learned on the design, development, and use of automated systems and police management applications. (COPS)

Access full text at COPS Online:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?Item=1264



INTERESTING WEB SITES

Yet another all-in-one site to help you find people. This site is COMPLETELY free!

http://www.the-seeker.com/



IN MEMORIAM: SPECIAL PTL. THOMAS SPARKS

On July 8, 1857, Special Patrolman Thomas Sparks of the Central Office, Metropolitan Police Department (New York City) was killed in the line of duty.

When the Metropolitan P.D. took over the policing of NYC on July 1, 1857, their numbers were low, so the Board of Commissioners, on July 3rd, expecting trouble from gangs, appointed three hundred citizens as Special police for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

Thomas Sparks was one of those appointed. On July 4th during the "Dead Rabbit Riots" he arrested a man for assault. While taking his prisoner to the White Street station house he was followed by a crowd. Just before getting to the station house he was hit over the head with a club. He was taken to his home at 100 East 16th St., where on July 8th he died from his injuries: Ptl. Sparks was 40 years of age.


"LEST WE FORGET�" THE NYPD MEMORIAL

July 7, 1872 Ptl John Donohue, 5 Pct, Head injuries-ambushed
July 8, 1857 Spec. Ptl Thomas Sparks, Assaulted
July 9, 1938 Ptl Arthur Howarth, 85 Pct, Auto accident on patrol
July 10, 1968 Ptl Nicholo Danisi, PA, Shot-off duty, mistaken ID
July 11, 1938 Ptl Angelo Favata, 85 Pct, Auto accident on patrol
July 12, 1924 Det Timothy Connell, DetDiv, Shot-robbery
July 13, 1868 Ptl Henry Corlett, 32 Pct, Drowned-rescue
July 14, 1922 Ptl Frank Mundo, Traffic Div, Auto accident, pursuit
July 14, 1936 Det Lawrence Gallagher, 47 Pct, Shot
July 14, 1941 Ptl Norman Dixon, 120 Pct, Auto accident on patrol
July 14, 1980 Det Abraham Walton, SCU, Shot-Robbery, off duty
July 15, 1977 PO Edward Mitchell, 34 Pct, Shot-robbery
July 16, 1987 PO george Scheu, 115 Pct, Shot-robbery, off duty
July 17, 1938 Ptl Harry Padian, 32 Pct, Shot by prisoner
July 18, 1992 PO Paul Heidelberger, PSA4, Shot-off duty incident

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

CODIS, DNA, AND THE DATABASES

The FBI Laboratory�s Combined DNA Index System is better known as CODIS.

CODIS blends forensic science and computer technology into an effective tool for solving violent crimes. CODIS enables federal, state, and local crime labs to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking crimes to each other and to convicted offenders.

Originally a pilot project begun in 1990, CODIS has evolved from its origination as serving 14 state and local laboratories to its current nationwide level. The DNA Identification Act of 1994 formalized the FBI�s authority to establish a national DNA index for law enforcement purposes. It was in October 1998 that the FBI�s National DNA Index System � NDIS � became operational.

CODIS is implemented as a distributed database with three levels � local, state, and national. NDIS is the highest level in the CODIS Program, exchanging information on a national level. All DNA profiles originate at the local level (LDIS), then flow to the state (SDIS) and national (NDIS) levels.

CODIS generates investigative leads using two indexes: the forensic and the offender indexes.
The Forensic Index contains DNA profiles from crime scene evidence.

The Offender Index contains DNA profiles of individuals convicted of sex offenses and other violent crimes which are included in the DNA requirements of the particular local and state agencies.

Matches in the Forensic Index can link crime scenes from different jurisdictions, possibly identifying serial offenders. Police agencies can coordinate their respective investigations, sharing leads they may have developed independently, when a Forensic Index match occurs.

Matches between the Forensic and the Offender Index provide investigators with an identity of the culprit.

It is noted that all states are participating in the National DNA Index System (NDIS), except for Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.
DNA evidence collected at a crime scene is analyzed by a forensic laboratory at the local level; in our case, In New York City, the local lab is the NYC Medical Examiner�s Office. Once typed, the profile is then run against the convicted-offender DNA profiles in the State Databank to attempt to make a match. In addition, profiles from other unsolved cases are compared against it to identify serial crimes.

If no match occurs at the state level the profile is uploaded to the Federal DNA Index System for comparison with DNA profiles from other states. DNA profiles remain in the Federal Databank and are regularly searched against new profiles as they are added to the system.

It is important to remember, as an investigator, that once a match is made of the suspected profile the search will usually end. If there is no �match� locally, it is submitted to the state; if no match in the state, then it is submitted to the federal database. This is important to keep in mind. The investigator should keep in contact with the ME�s Office analyst; this will ensure that the appropriate checks which you want done are so completed.


REDESIGNED MEDAL OF HONOR � 1973

Sixty years after the Medal of Honor replaced the Department Medal as the NYPD�s top award for valor, the department decided to change its design.

In 1972, a contest was announced to pick a design for a new medal. The winner was Ptl. Alfred Young, a police historian and later curator of the Police Museum. His design was based on the star-shaped badge worn by the New York City Municipal Police Department officers from 1845 to 1857. The medal hangs from a green ribbon on which 12 white stars are clustered. A top bar is inscribed with �Valor�. A gold palm leaf on the ribbon indicates a second award. Since 1997, the medal has been made of gold.

The first presentation of the new medals were made on October 23, 1973, to the widows of five officers: Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie, 9 Pct., Elijah Stroud, 88 Pct., Phillip Cardillo, 28 Pct., and Det. William Capers, 16 B/L Sqd, who were slain in the line of duty during 1972. Two other awards of the Medal of Honor were also made that day to Sgt. William Manos, ESD 4, and Officer Frank Buono, Bx. FSA.

At the 1985 Medal Day ceremonies the first awards of the NYPD Medal of Honor to a female police officer were made to PO Tanya Braithwaite, 41 Pct, and PO Sharon Fields, 40 Pct. Each officer had engaged in a shootout with a gunman who had just murdered another police officer.

It is noted that in 1984, a female police officer with the NYC Transit Police Department, Irma Lozada, was killed in the line of duty and awarded the Transit Police� Medal of Honor posthumously.

Since 1921, when posthumous awards were first made, approximately 70% of the Medals of Honor awarded have been to officers who died in the line of duty, with the majority killed in shooting incident.


IN MEMORIAM: PTL. DANIEL NEVILLE

On August 27, 1921 Ptl. Daniel J. Neville of the 23rd Precinct (Midtown South) was killed in the line of duty.

Ptl. Neville entered a lot at 39th St. and Eleventh Ave. to investigate a report that a group of young gangsters were using the watchman�s shanty for card games and for the distribution of drugs. When he was about five foot from the shanty he was shot in the left chest, which resulted in his death. Witnesses had reported that they saw one man run out of the yard and that two men were seen climbing over the fence of the year after the shot.

Ptl. Neville was appointed to the NYPD in 1907; he was married and the father of five children. Ptl. Neville was Posthomously awarded the NYPD Medal of Honor.

(Special Note: In 1918, One of Ptl. Neville�s former partners, Ptl. Joseph Nolan, was killed in front of 526 W. 39th Street by a brick thrown from the roof.)
IDENTITY THEFT INVESTIGATORS GUIDE AVAILABLE

A recently release publication by the national Institute of Justice focuses on the ever increasing problem of Identity Theft.

Law Enforcement Agencies and Identity Theft, (NCJ 205701) a 64 page booklet, is a new COPS POP Guide, addresses the problem of identity theft, and reviews the factors that increase the risk of it. Identity theft is a new crime, facilitated through established, underlying crimes such as forgery, counterfeiting, check and credit card fraud, computer fraud, impersonation, pickpocketing, and even terrorism.

You Can Access full text at COPS Online:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?Item=1271


SGT. PATRICK BENEVENTI HONORED

As noted in a recent NY POST article, on June 16, 2004, Sgt. Patrick Beneventi of the 109 Pct. was recently honored.

On June 16, 2004 Police Commissioner Ray Kelly presented the Theodore Roosevelt Award - which honors NYPD cops who survive a medical hardship - to a Queens sergeant who fought back against cancer.

"I had a little bad luck with my health. Thank God everything is OK. I had a little surgery and I feel fine now," said Sgt. Patrick Beneventi.

Beneventi became ill in July 1999 and underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his spine. He returned to work - only to be twice diagnosed with prostate cancer, but he has been cancer-free since March 2003.

The Roosevelt Award honors the legacy of the former NYPD commissioner and childhood asthma victim who became the 26th president.

Kelly lauded Beneventi not only for beating his illness, but for supervising three cops from the 109th Precinct who have had a remarkable impact upon crime in Flushing.

The trio - Officers Brian McCloskey, Dennis Kim and Jerry Svoronos - logged 366 arrests in 2003, an average of an arrest a day. Through March of this year, they had nabbed 157 suspected criminals, a rate nearly twice that of last year.


IF YOGI BERRA WAS A DETECTIVE

The following statements, taken from DD5s, could easily have been written by Yogi Berra if he was a detective.

�They were living domesticatally.
They�re habitating at �
Seeking the location of his whereabouts�
He was of Jamaican assessment.
Seeking to identify his identification.
Identified a pattern of unrelated incidents.
Was wearing a multi-colored white tee shirt
Known to congregate by himself.
The eyewitness is blind and did not see anything.
They went into a feet pursuit.
He has numerical arrests on his rap sheet.
The bus driver was working off duty at the time.
The information was received from an anonymous CI.
His sister states that she is not related to her brother.
The suspicious package was examined and determined to be not suspicious.
The unarmed security guard fired two shots at the perp.
All the calls that day happened another day.

Also, does anyone know when the word �conversating� became a recognized word in the English language?