Nassau First
01-06-2005, 10:34 PM
*I, for one, am sick and tired of all of these New York City hacks and their families who think their sh*t doesn't smell, and who think they can push around the little guy. Suozzi and his City flunkies have to go.
I can't believe this woman interfered with a governmental function and was let off scot free because she was a deputy commissioner's wife. This broad should be sharing a bunk with Pete Sylver in the East Meadow Hilton, if you know what I mean. Not getting apologizes. The lady committed a crime, and was let off. Ripp did the right thing. This story screams one thing -- ABUSIVE SUOZZI HACK!!!!!!
A normal person who interfered with a traffic officer like that would have been cuffed, stuffed, and shown the back of the squad car. Please, I would like to hear what folks have to say about this story, as I am outraged by the way this woman treated a uniformed officer, merely because her husband is connected to Lawrence.
Three Cheers for Officer John Ripp, my new hero!
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IT TOOK A BAD TURN
Nassau cop faces inquiry after he and the wife of a top police official engage in a dispute at a blocked intersection in Wantagh
BY MICHAEL ROTHFELD
STAFF WRITER
January 6, 2005
A Nassau County patrol officer is under investigation for misconduct after he refused to allow the wife of a high-ranking department official to make a left turn at a closed intersection in Wantagh.
"My husband is the deputy commissioner," police officials and witnesses say Mary Haviken - wife of Deputy Commissioner John Haviken - blustered after exiting her 1995 Volvo.
"Commissioner of what," shot back Police Officer John Ripp, who was directing traffic because a signal light was out.
Police officials would not comment on specifics of the altercation, but department sources said Mary Haviken accused Ripp of shoving and injuring her and using foul language. However, witnesses and police union officials said Ripp acted appropriately.
Nassau Police Commissioner James Lawrence intervened in the Dec. 22 incident, which has sparked a confrontation between top department officials and leaders of the patrol officers' union charging abuse of power.
During the confrontation, Mary Haviken used her cell phone to call her husband at police headquarters in Mineola. Lawrence got on the line and listened to her complain. The woman then passed her phone to a police sergeant at the scene who was instructed by Lawrence to assess the situation and report back, according to police department spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.
Within hours, Chief Anthony Rocco, who oversees patrol for the entire department, went to the Seventh Precinct station house in Seaford to discuss the matter with Ripp's supervisors.
Gary DelaRaba, president of Nassau's Police Benevolent Association, said police brass several days later offered to end the investigation if Ripp apologized to Mary Haviken. But Ripp rejected the offer.
"This is the case of a woman who felt that she didn't have to follow the rules because her husband was the deputy commissioner," DelaRaba said.
Smith said neither of the Havikens, nor Lawrence, would agree to be interviewed by Newsday. DelaRaba said Ripp, a 12-year veteran, would not comment either. Smith said Deputy Commissioner Haviken wanted the complaint to be "handled according to the same standard as every other internal investigation."
Melvin Gow, 57, a repairman from Ridge who witnessed the incident, said in an interview with Newsday that Ripp acted appropriately. "Because of who she is, she doesn't want to back down," Gow said. "If it was your wife or my wife there would be no investigation."
Gow and two other repairmen employed by Plainview-based Wellsbach Electric said in official witness statements to police obtained by Newsday that Mary Haviken, 60, was heading south on Wantagh Avenue at about 11:30 a.m. She pulled up behind Ripp's patrol car, which was blocking traffic, and told him she needed to turn left on Park Avenue. Ripp told her to pull back into traffic and she exited her car and approached the officer.
"The woman becomes angry and she says to the cop, 'Do you know who my husband is?'" stated repairman Joseph Vincenti of Centereach.
Gow stated: "She tells him, 'My husband is the deputy commissioner and I want your name.'"
The repairmen told police that Haviken refused Ripp's order to return to her car. He then walked Haviken back to her car, asked for her driver's license, and reportedly threatened her with arrest if she did not cooperate. All the while, she was talking on her cell phone, the repairmen said.
Haviken was "argumentative and ignoring his commands," stated repairman Kurt Roth of Coram. "The cop leaves the intersection to speak with her and immediately the intersection becomes chaotic, the cars going in all kinds of directions, horns beeping," Roth stated.
Smith said the internal personnel investigation into Ripp will focus on the officer's alleged "inappropriate and unprofessional conduct."
County officials familiar with the probe said Mary Haviken's back was bruised in the altercation. They said she wanted Ripp to help her back into traffic and invoked her husband's name only after the officer said, "Who the hell are you?!"
DelaRaba said Haviken may have perceived it as an insult after she asserted that her husband was deputy commissioner and the patrolman responded by saying: "Of what?" John Haviken, 62, joined the force just two years ago from the New York City Police Department and is not well known, DelaRaba said.
I can't believe this woman interfered with a governmental function and was let off scot free because she was a deputy commissioner's wife. This broad should be sharing a bunk with Pete Sylver in the East Meadow Hilton, if you know what I mean. Not getting apologizes. The lady committed a crime, and was let off. Ripp did the right thing. This story screams one thing -- ABUSIVE SUOZZI HACK!!!!!!
A normal person who interfered with a traffic officer like that would have been cuffed, stuffed, and shown the back of the squad car. Please, I would like to hear what folks have to say about this story, as I am outraged by the way this woman treated a uniformed officer, merely because her husband is connected to Lawrence.
Three Cheers for Officer John Ripp, my new hero!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT TOOK A BAD TURN
Nassau cop faces inquiry after he and the wife of a top police official engage in a dispute at a blocked intersection in Wantagh
BY MICHAEL ROTHFELD
STAFF WRITER
January 6, 2005
A Nassau County patrol officer is under investigation for misconduct after he refused to allow the wife of a high-ranking department official to make a left turn at a closed intersection in Wantagh.
"My husband is the deputy commissioner," police officials and witnesses say Mary Haviken - wife of Deputy Commissioner John Haviken - blustered after exiting her 1995 Volvo.
"Commissioner of what," shot back Police Officer John Ripp, who was directing traffic because a signal light was out.
Police officials would not comment on specifics of the altercation, but department sources said Mary Haviken accused Ripp of shoving and injuring her and using foul language. However, witnesses and police union officials said Ripp acted appropriately.
Nassau Police Commissioner James Lawrence intervened in the Dec. 22 incident, which has sparked a confrontation between top department officials and leaders of the patrol officers' union charging abuse of power.
During the confrontation, Mary Haviken used her cell phone to call her husband at police headquarters in Mineola. Lawrence got on the line and listened to her complain. The woman then passed her phone to a police sergeant at the scene who was instructed by Lawrence to assess the situation and report back, according to police department spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.
Within hours, Chief Anthony Rocco, who oversees patrol for the entire department, went to the Seventh Precinct station house in Seaford to discuss the matter with Ripp's supervisors.
Gary DelaRaba, president of Nassau's Police Benevolent Association, said police brass several days later offered to end the investigation if Ripp apologized to Mary Haviken. But Ripp rejected the offer.
"This is the case of a woman who felt that she didn't have to follow the rules because her husband was the deputy commissioner," DelaRaba said.
Smith said neither of the Havikens, nor Lawrence, would agree to be interviewed by Newsday. DelaRaba said Ripp, a 12-year veteran, would not comment either. Smith said Deputy Commissioner Haviken wanted the complaint to be "handled according to the same standard as every other internal investigation."
Melvin Gow, 57, a repairman from Ridge who witnessed the incident, said in an interview with Newsday that Ripp acted appropriately. "Because of who she is, she doesn't want to back down," Gow said. "If it was your wife or my wife there would be no investigation."
Gow and two other repairmen employed by Plainview-based Wellsbach Electric said in official witness statements to police obtained by Newsday that Mary Haviken, 60, was heading south on Wantagh Avenue at about 11:30 a.m. She pulled up behind Ripp's patrol car, which was blocking traffic, and told him she needed to turn left on Park Avenue. Ripp told her to pull back into traffic and she exited her car and approached the officer.
"The woman becomes angry and she says to the cop, 'Do you know who my husband is?'" stated repairman Joseph Vincenti of Centereach.
Gow stated: "She tells him, 'My husband is the deputy commissioner and I want your name.'"
The repairmen told police that Haviken refused Ripp's order to return to her car. He then walked Haviken back to her car, asked for her driver's license, and reportedly threatened her with arrest if she did not cooperate. All the while, she was talking on her cell phone, the repairmen said.
Haviken was "argumentative and ignoring his commands," stated repairman Kurt Roth of Coram. "The cop leaves the intersection to speak with her and immediately the intersection becomes chaotic, the cars going in all kinds of directions, horns beeping," Roth stated.
Smith said the internal personnel investigation into Ripp will focus on the officer's alleged "inappropriate and unprofessional conduct."
County officials familiar with the probe said Mary Haviken's back was bruised in the altercation. They said she wanted Ripp to help her back into traffic and invoked her husband's name only after the officer said, "Who the hell are you?!"
DelaRaba said Haviken may have perceived it as an insult after she asserted that her husband was deputy commissioner and the patrolman responded by saying: "Of what?" John Haviken, 62, joined the force just two years ago from the New York City Police Department and is not well known, DelaRaba said.