SHB_p003

SC12112014

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com december 11, 2014 • THE COURIER SUN 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF LIAO Car pulled out of canal in Howard Beach BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 A car plunged into a Jamaica Bay canal early in the morning on Dec. 6, sources told The Courier. According to the FDNY, the incident happened at about 2 a.m. and after pulling the car out of the water, divers did not find a body. It is believed that the driver either abandoned the car right before it hit the water or swam out of the car right after, authorities said. There were police and a truck with a crane on scene to pull the car out of the bay. The vehicle was then placed in the parking lot of Howard Beach Chiropractic, located on 160th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard, sources said. The cause of the accident and the whereabouts and condition of the driver are still not known. Photo via Twitter1/@NYPDSpecialops 103RD PRECINCT GETS FIRST POLICE BODY CAMERAS IN QUEENS BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 There will be a new set of eyes added to the streets of Jamaica. The 103rd Precinct will be part of the new NYPD pilot program to test the use of body cameras on police officers. Six precincts throughout the five boroughs are part of this system. Their selection was determined by which precincts had the highest number of stop and frisks. Nine officers in the 103rd Precinct will be part of the program. There will be one camera per officer per squad to start out. There are three squads per shift in the precinct and, depending on the time, there will always be at least one cop with a body camera on patrol and as many as three depending on patrol schedules. “I think cameras are a good thing,” said one officer from the precinct. “It’s a great idea and gives a different perspective of what is actually happening out there.” The cameras are hands free, one on the torso and one over the ear. The officer will have to pull down the shutter covering the lens to turn the camera on whenever he or she is making a stop or arrest. The pilot program was introduced by Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Dec. 3, just before the grand jury decided to not indict the officer in the Eric Garner case. “Body cameras are going to be an important additional step in the reforms that we’re undertaking,” de Blasio said. “And I think that step is going to greatly increase the confidence of the people in their relationship with the NYPD.” Phil Craig, a reverend at the Greater Springfield Community Church in Jamaica, said he believes that the body cameras will only be a good thing if they are used for the protection of the people. “I hope they will be used for the protection of the people and not for the persecution of them,” said Craig. “We need to take a real good look on how the police are handling community relations.” Officers at the 103rd Precinct are still unsure of when they will receive the body cameras. If the threemonth pilot program works well, the department will expand the number of body cameras on the streets, Mayor Bill de Blasio looks at a camera at the police academy in College Point, Queens. possibly until all 35,000 police officers have one. “I have always been in favor of cameras,” said the Photo courtesy of NYC Mayor’s Flickr police officer at the 103rd Precinct. “I think things are going to change.”


SC12112014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above