MEN’S CLUB
BY STEVE AUERBACH
Photos courtesy of Arnie Rabinowitz
Jonathan Darche, Executive Director
of the New York City Civilian
Complaint Review Board
(CCRB), was the guest speaker at
the August 9 Men’s Club Meeting.
The CCRB investigates misconduct
by police officers. Prior to his employment
with the CCRB, Darche
served on the staff of Senator
Charles Schumer, is a graduate of
CUNY Law School and served as
an Assistant District Attorney in
Queens County. He addressed an
interested and engaged audience of
more than 50 members and guests.
He informed us the NYPD is a
force of approximately 30,000 officers,
which is the paramount law
enforcement agency in the U.S. The
CCRB has thirteen members, five
appointed by the Mayor, one from
each Borough, appointed by the
City Council, and three appointed
by the Police Commissioner. The
Chair is also appointed by the
Mayor. The Members are civilians,
except for the three appointed by
the Police Commissioner, who may
have served as police officers.
Police officer misconduct falls
into 5 categories: excessive force,
abuse of authority, discourtesy,
offensive language and sexual misconduct.
Although misconduct by
police officers has consequences,
the objective of the CCRB is to give
the officers charged a fair hearing.
The final word on discipline of
police officers is with the Police
Commissioner. Punishments can
range from an admonishment to
discharge. Darche informed us
that officers have a duty to de-escalate
situations, and that by the
end of 2018, all police officers will
be equipped with body cameras.
An evolving area of the law is the
confidentiality of police officer’s
disciplinary records.
Panels of three CCRB Members
hear cases and must base their decisions
on the facts presented. The
CCRB hires “smart people who can
write.” All CCRB employees must
be impartial and make judgments
on the facts presented. The audience
was attentive and peppered
Darche with questions, making for
a very interesting meeting.
Next month’s meeting on
Thursday, September 13, at 7:30
p.m. in the large card room will
feature Speaker Linda Marie Frank,
author and Science Teacher, who
will discuss how DNA was used and
misused in the O. J. Simpson trial,
the Laci and Conner Peterson murders,
the Sam Sheppard trial and
the Boston Strangler case. Frank
is the author of the Annie Tillery
Mysteries and taught Forensic
Science at the graduate level at
Hofstra and Adelphi Universities.
Guests are welcome when accompanied
by a Men’s Club member
for a fee of $5 payable at the door.
Coffee and cake will be available.
Speaker Jonathan Darche
Dinner at the Mediterranean grill
Breakfast at Buffy’s Jolly Fishermen
Any question? Call
Men’s Club President
Arnie Rabinowitz at
516-317-6705
For Event info, call Jerry
Siegel at 516-884-4001
New member? Call
Joe DiGiovanni at
516-965-9225
38 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ September 2018