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Cops Can't Take Gifts, Unless You're The Boss & The Gift Is A Plane Ticket
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 14, 2013
Modified Aug 14, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 14, 2013
Modified Aug 14, 2013
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Don't bother thanking that sweaty beat cop with a refreshing frozen lemonade—NYPD officers aren't allowed to accept gifts. But if you feel like buying NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly a few rides in a private jet, he'll grab his neck pillow faster than you can say "graft."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kelly reported to the COIB that he accepted three trips to his Florida beach house on Mayor Bloomberg's private jet last year. Though the exact value of the flights is "undetermined," the paper uses an FAA estimate that notes the "one-way" flights cost at least $6,016 per trip.
Here's what Section 203-16 of the Patrol Guide states:
It is the policy of the Department that members of the service may not accept any reward, gratuity, gift or other compensation for any service performed as a result of or in conjunction with their duties as public servants. ….Members of the service also shall not solicit any gift, gratuity, loan, present, fee or reward for personal gain.
That seems clear enough, but then again, so does the impropriety of accepting thousands of dollars worth of dues payments, meals, and drinks at the Harvard Club, and Commissioner Kelly wasn't censured for those either. Granted, Kelly is a civilian appointee, but one who apparently believes he's above the rules he sets for his subordinates.
Kelly's eight other trips on Bloomberg's jet, which occurred from 2009 to 2011, have previously been reported. As have trips taken on the plane by other public officials like Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
But don't worry: there's "more oversight of this department than any other department in America."
Tagged
coib
graft
NYPD hypocrisy
Ray Kelly
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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