Our mission is to support and advocate on behalf of Auxiliary Police Officers of the City of New York through legislation, representation, and public education. APSBA welcomes auxiliary members of all ranks, both active and retired. If you would like to join, please submit an application.
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PRESS CONFERENCE July 18, 2009
Posted by on Wednesday July 15th, 2009 06:47 PM
MEDIA ADVISORY
PRESS CONFERENCE
DATE: SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2009
TIME: 12 NOON
LOCATION: STEPS OF CITY HALL
ELECTED OFFICIALS & AUXILIARY OFFICERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE CITY WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE.
On July 4, 2009, while performing requested volunteer duty outside his command at the NYPD Fireworks detail, a dedicated and respected 1st Precinct Auxiliary Police Officer was arrested, while in Uniform, by order of a Police Captain for having Mace on his equipment belt. Not only can an argument be made that this was solely a uniform equipment violation and thus handled very poorly but also that it should never have even been an issue. Mace (or a form of) is one of the protective items that were requested under the NYC Council (Weprin) 10-point Auxiliary Police Improvement Program developed back in April 2007 in conjunction with the founding members of the APSBA after the deaths of our two heroic Auxiliary Officers in the 6th Pct. on March 14th, 2007. Money for Protective vests was quickly allocated while for over two years the Administration is still contemplating the other 9 other vital and very necessary items such as Mace, ASP’s, and Escape Hoods. The arrest, especially by this particular Captain, was uncalled for and sends a very poor message to each and every other NYC Volunteer especially the Auxiliary Police who get very little recognition and insufficient funding as compared to the paid Uniformed Services and even newer volunteer programs such as CERT. How many more unfortunate incidents before we have change? There are Auxiliary Officers throughout the City contemplating what they will do when future requests for assistance arrive and patrolling the streets of New York!
MEDIA CONTACTS:
WILLIAM RIVERA (646) 533-5228
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