Joseph Gray (police officer)

Last updated

Joseph Gray is a former New York City Police Department officer who killed four pedestrians (one of which was an unborn child), on August 4, 2001, while driving drunk in Brooklyn. The event "mushroomed into scandal" when it was discovered that other officers were drinking with Gray in a topless bar and earlier at a precinct parking lot before the incident. [1] [2] Five officers were suspended and five were transferred, including the precinct's commanding officer, executive officer and integrity control officer. [2] The two officers who were on probation at the time were ultimately dismissed. [3]

Contents

The New York Times cited the incident as an example of the blue wall of silence, "the tradition of the police lying or looking the other way to protect their own", because of the attempts of some of Gray's colleagues to get him off. [4] The New York Times compared the incident to the testimony of Frank Serpico and the assault of Abner Louima. [4] According to Professor Jerome Skolnick at New York University Law School, "The blue wall is still an issue, and it's not surprising that sort of behavior would take place around drinking, which is seen as a kind of a venial sin. It is so widespread that cops are most likely to cover up for one another on that issue." [5]

Incident

On Saturday August 4, 2001, at 9 p.m. Gray was speeding through a red light on Third Avenue under the Gowanus Expressway with his minivan when he struck pregnant Maria Herrera, 24, her son Andy, 4, and her sister Dilcia Peña, 16, while crossing a street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. [2] [6] [7] [8] The three were killed instantly. [6] Herrera was eight and a half months pregnant; her unborn child was delivered in an emergency Caesarean procedure but did not survive. [2]

Gray was traveling 15  mph over the 30 mph speed limit. [8] He had a blood-alcohol level of .23, nearly triple the legal limit. [8] He was off-duty at the time of the incident. [2] Four officers had been drinking with Gray at the Wild Wild West topless bar, which was listed as off-limits to officers of the 72nd precinct. [2] Gray had drunk 12 to 18 beers in the previous 12 hours. [6]

Before the paramedics arrived, Gray told witness Freddy Roman, "Come on, man, we all have a few beers once in a while." [8]

Gray was released without bail on the Sunday after his arraignment, sparking outrage among the victim's families, and many New Yorkers. [2] Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated that he "should have been held on high bail whether he was or he wasn't a police officer. Everybody should be held to an extremely high standard when it comes to drunk driving." [2]

Trial

Gray was convicted of four counts of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to five to 15 years in prison. [6] [7] The sentence left Gray eligible for parole in five years. [7] The jury convicted Gray of second-degree manslaughter, rather than the less serious offenses of vehicular manslaughter and negligent homicide, which were also submitted to them. [8] Gray was denied parole for the third time in February 2011, after having spent 10 years in prison. The parole board determined that Gray's release was "incompatible with the welfare and safety of the community," and that there was a "reasonable probability" that Gray would violate the law again if released. [9] He was released in 2012.[ citation needed ]

Investigation of police misconduct

Gray was arrested by officers from his own precinct. [2] The responding highway officer failed to fill out portions of the accident report. [4] Photographs taken at the crime scene "mysteriously turned out to be blank". [4] At the trial, an accident investigator testified that union representatives asked him which sobriety test Gray would be most likely to "beat". [4] The police chemist failed to turn over 60 pages of reports on Gray's blood alcohol content as required by law, and several other pieces of evidence were temporarily displaced. [5] The investigator, after he retired, admitted that he had sought to give Gray a "benefit" because of his status as a police officer. [5] Gray was not handcuffed in the squad car or detention room. [8]

After Gray's conviction, the district attorney launched an "investigation into police misconduct in this case, specifically for obstruction of governmental administration and hindering prosecution." [5] The issue had been raised even during the trial, when the "exasperated prosecutor, speaking in open court, voiced his unhappiness with the handling of the case by officers". [5]

Officer Michael J. Immitt, the union official, had also been involved in the Louima case, where he had also been accused of misconduct by prosecutors. [5] In the obstruction trial for that case, Immitt admitted that he told officers to "sit tight" and "don't talk about it". [5]

Civil settlement

The city paid $1.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit stemming from the incident to surviving family members, reported on May 16, 2006. [10] The family members were represented by Johnnie Cochran and Derek Sells. [11]

Legacy

150 people gathered at the site of the incident on the first anniversary of the deaths. [12] The playground next to the site has been renamed Herrera-Peña Park. [12]

Rapper Talib Kweli mentions the incident in his song "The Proud" from the album Quality (2002):

August 4, 2001

A drunken police officer mows down an entire family in Brooklyn
The judge lets him go with no bail
It reminds us, of just how worthless our lives are to the justice system

I struggle, to explain the situation to my son, it's hard [13]

Related Research Articles

Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle with the operator's ability to do so impaired as a result of alcohol consumption, or with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. For drivers 21 years or older, driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher is illegal. For drivers under 21 years old, the legal limit is lower, with state limits ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Lower BAC limits apply when operating boats, airplanes, or commercial vehicles. Among other names, the criminal offense of drunk driving may be called driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated or impaired (DWI), operating [a] vehicle under the influence of alcohol (OVI), or operating while impaired (OWI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driving under the influence</span> Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of an impairing substance

Driving under the influence (DUI) is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Multiple other terms are used for the offense in various jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</span> Nonprofit organization

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol or any other drug. The Irving, Texas-based organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. There is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has claimed that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abner Louima</span> Haitian-American man (born 1966)

Abner Louima is a Haitian American man who, in 1997, was physically attacked, brutalized, and raped by officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after he was arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub. His injuries were so severe that he required three major surgeries.

Michael James McAlary was an American journalist and columnist who worked at the New York Daily News for 12 years, beginning with the police beat. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his columns exposing police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.

Lane Garrison is an American actor best known for the role of David "Tweener" Apolskis on the television series Prison Break. He appeared in the pilot episode of the El Rey network's series From Dusk till Dawn. He played Buck Barrow in the 2013 television miniseries Bonnie & Clyde. He starred opposite Kristen Stewart in the 2014 film Camp X-Ray.

<i>Fort Apache, The Bronx</i> 1981 film by Daniel Petrie

Fort Apache, The Bronx is a 1981 American crime drama film directed by Daniel Petrie. The film is about a hard-drinking, lonely veteran cop, Murphy, and his young partner Corelli, who work in a crime-ridden precinct in the Bronx. Although Murphy's life takes a good turn when he falls in love with Isabella, a young nurse, the arrival of a new, law-and-order-minded police captain commanding the precinct, Connoly threatens to tip the neighborhood's delicate balance into anarchy. Danny Aiello, Kathleen Beller, and Pam Grier play supporting roles. It was written by Heywood Gould and produced by Martin Richards and Thomas Fiorello, with David Susskind as executive producer.

Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), formerly known as the Century Council, is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol use.

On October 15, 2008, Michael Mineo was arrested and allegedly sodomized by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in the Prospect Park subway station in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. According to Mineo, the arresting police officers pinned him to the ground, while Richard Kern, one of the officers, pulled down Mineo's pants and sodomized him with a police baton. On December 9, 2008, the Brooklyn District Attorney indicted the three arresting officers and charged them with felonies. Kern was charged with aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree, assault in the first degree, and hindering prosecution. Two other officers — Andrew Morales and Alex Cruz — were charged with hindering prosecution and official misconduct. All three officers were tried and found not guilty of all charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Police Department corruption and misconduct</span> Overview of misconduct and corruption in the NYPD

Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department, numerous instances of corruption, misconduct, and other allegations of such, have occurred. Over 12,000 cases have resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019, taxpayers funded $68,688,423 as the cost of misconduct lawsuits, a 76 percent increase over the previous year, including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.

The 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash was a traffic collision that occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. on July 26, 2009, on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of Mount Pleasant, near the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York, United States. Eight people were killed when a minivan, being driven by 36-year-old Diane Schuler, traveled 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in the wrong direction on the parkway and collided head-on with an oncoming SUV. Schuler, her daughter and three nieces, and the three passengers in the oncoming SUV were killed. The crash was the worst fatal motor vehicle crash to occur in Westchester County since July 22, 1934, when a bus crash in Ossining claimed twenty lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Aiyana Jones</span> 2010 police shooting of a child in Detroit

Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroit's East Side who was shot in the neck and killed by police officer Joseph Weekley during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team. The Team was targeting a suspect in the apartment a floor above Jones' on May 16, 2010. Her death drew national media attention and led U.S. Representative John Conyers to ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for a federal investigation into the incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drunk driving</span> Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol

Drunk driving is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Union Square derailment</span> New York City Subway derailment

On August 28, 1991, a 4 Lexington Avenue Express train on the New York City Subway's IRT Lexington Avenue Line derailed as it was about to enter 14th Street–Union Square station, killing five people. It was the worst accident on the subway system since the 1928 Times Square derailment. The motorman was found at fault for alcohol intoxication and excessive speed, and served time in prison for manslaughter.

Akai Gurley, a 28-year-old black man, was fatally shot on November 20, 2014, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, by a New York City Police Department officer. Two police officers, patrolling stairwells in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)'s Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn, entered a pitch-dark, unlit stairwell. Officer Peter Liang, 27, had his firearm drawn. Gurley and his girlfriend entered the seventh-floor stairwell, fourteen steps below them. Liang fired his weapon; the shot ricocheted off a wall and fatally struck Gurley in the chest. A jury convicted Liang of manslaughter, which a court later reduced to criminally negligent homicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Freddie Gray</span> Death in custody of Baltimore Police

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While in police custody, Gray sustained fatal injuries and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Gray died on April 19, 2015; his death was ascribed to injuries to his cervical spinal cord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Eric Harris</span> 2015 manslaughter in Tulsa, Oklahoma

On April 2, 2015, 43-year-old African-American Eric Courtney Harris was fatally shot during an undercover sting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Harris ran from authorities unarmed. While Harris was being subdued, Tulsa County Reserve Deputy Robert Charles Bates, 73, claims he confused his personal weapon, a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver, for a Model X26 Taser. Bates shot Harris in the back when he was on the ground. According to the Tulsa County Sheriff's office, he immediately said afterwards, "Oh, I shot him! I'm sorry." Bates was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison, and was released after serving 18 months.

On September 14, 2013, Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old former college football player for the Florida A&M University Rattlers was involved in a car crash. When police arrived, he ran towards them and was shot by police officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but the jury deadlocked and he was not retried. Police dashcam footage of the incident was released to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Times Square car attack</span> Vehicle-ramming attack in New York City

On May 18, 2017, a car was crashed in Times Square, New York City, United States. One person was killed and 20 were injured. Navy veteran Richard Rojas was charged with one count of second degree murder, 18 attempted murders and 38 assaults, for which he was found not responsible because of insanity.

References

  1. ↑ "Parole denied again for Staten Island DWI cop Joseph Gray, who killed 4 people in crash". 22 February 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CNN. August 9, 2001. "NYPD precinct cited for alcohol, command problems".
  3. ↑ Susan Saulny. June 19, 2002. "Judge Upholds Dismissal of Officers". New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 New York Times. May 8, 2002. "Tear Down the Wall".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 William K. Rashbaum. May 5, 2002. "After Ex-Officer's Conviction, Challenging the Blue Wall".
  6. 1 2 3 4 James P. Fried. October 5, 2003. "Following Up". New York Times.
  7. 1 2 3 Andy Newman. May 24, 2002. "Ex-Officer Sentenced to Maximum for Crash That Killed 4". New York Times.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Any Newman. May 4, 2002. "Ex-Officer Guilty of Manslaughter In Crash Following Drinking Bout".
  9. ↑ Frank Donnelly. February 22, 2011. "Parole denied again for Staten Island DWI cop Joseph Gray, who killed 4 people in crash". SILive.com. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  10. ↑ New York Times. May 17, 2006. "City Settles Suit Stemming From Fatal Crash".
  11. ↑ Hope Reeves. May 30, 2002. "Suit in Drunken-Driving Deaths". New York Times.
  12. 1 2 New York Times. August 5, 2002. "Mourners Remember Family Killed By Officer".
  13. ↑ "Talib Kweli - the Proud Lyrics". Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.