Sunday, July 30, 2006

Neighbor-Hoods Watch:

Harlem, NYC

"Her face bruised and bloodied, a 38-year-old Harlem woman is accusing a city cop of handcuffing her arms behind her back and dragging her along a sidewalk, peeling the skin from her left cheek.

Janeth Delgado says her 11-year-old son, who was playing in a schoolyard across the street, witnessed the alleged assault at 9:30 p.m., July 4, on E. 104th St.

"That's the part that really kills me," said the single mom, a recreation supervisor with the city Parks Department. "My son had to watch me get beaten up and then dragged away in a police car."

The Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates allegations of police abuse, has been examining Delgado's claims. The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau also conducted a review, but declined to investigate further, a police source said.

Police say Delgado was intoxicated and attacked the unidentified officer.

The cops were on the block to investigate reports of residents shooting off illegal fireworks. The uniformed cop who questioned Delgado made that immediately clear.

"Where are the fireworks?" he asked, according to Delgado, who admits drinking two beers in her apartment shortly before she was confronted by the cop.

Delgado says she told the officer she didn't know anything about the fireworks and attempted to walk away. But she says the cop pushed her and as she stumbled she grabbed his shirt, causing him to crash down on top of her.

Angry, the cop jumped to his feet, flipped over Delgado and cuffed her before dragging her to a police car, she said.

Authorities charged Delgado with assaulting an officer, obstruction, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

If she's convicted of the assault charge, Delgado, who has no previous arrest history, could lose her job at the Parks Department, where she has worked since 1998."

One of the MANY things this tale of woe omits is the fact that Ms Delgado doesn't just work for the Parks Department as something of a supervisor, but is in fact a Deputy Center Manager. NYC has more affirmative action hires than any STATE in the union, and the neighborhood buzz has long pronounced this woman to be a loud and obnoxious drunkard who isn't averse to throwing her weight around. Police sources advise that she's a "clinger", someone who immediately grabs for a policeman's uniform in order to instigate a tussle, and that the cop in question should have recognized her but did not. It's doubtful she'll lose her job simply because she wrestled a policeman to the ground, but she very well might be demoted for a time simply to soothe the angry cops.

Factoid: Many of the beat cops will tell you that the women, replete with 3" nails, can be the most dangerous to subdue when drunk. Police cannot use the necessary level of force on force and 250-pounders with an attitude are trouble waiting to happen.

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