A founder of a black police organization said yesterday that he was facing departmental charges for publicly criticizing the city's handling of a terror alert last fall.
Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times
Eric Adams, a police captain and one of the founders of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.
Eric Adams, a captain who heads 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, will attend proceedings this week over accusations that his appearance on a television news program in October is grounds for termination, one of his lawyers, Norman Siegel, said at a news conference.
On the program, on WCBS-TV, Captain Adams castigated the city for deciding to wait four days before publicizing a Department of Homeland Security warning about a possible terror attack in the subways.
At the time, Captain Adams suggested that the city released the information when it did to distract attention from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's failure to appear at a candidates' debate at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The threat later turned out to be unfounded.
If the disciplinary action were to result in dismissal, Captain Adams, a 22-year veteran scheduled to retire on March 17, could lose his pension. Mr. Siegel said that the captain was planning to run in Brooklyn for a seat in the State Senate.
Mr. Siegel said the issue was one of free speech, adding that the move to dismiss the captain, a frequent critic of the department, was "an example of thin-skinned managerial decision-making" and a simple matter of retaliation.
"This case is extremely important for all New Yorkers," Mr. Siegel said. "We cannot allow any government entity to punish or possibly silence needed critics on the issues of public concern," he said, adding that "even the filing of the charges potentially chills government employees from speaking out."
Mr. Siegel said that Captain Adams, in his role as a spokesman for an outside organization, had a right to criticize the department.
According to the charges, Captain Adams, who works at the Sixth Precinct, in Greenwich Village, "did wrongfully divulge or discuss department business without authority and permission to do so."
He was also accused of conduct "prejudicial to the good order, efficiency or discipline of the department by disseminating misinformation to the public regarding this N.Y.P.D. operation."
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly declined to comment yesterday, saying he could not discuss an ongoing disciplinary matter.
Captain Adams said he had no regrets about his televised comments, adding that had the terror threat been correct, the city's delay in announcing it could have jeopardized the safety of New Yorkers.
"I made the right decision," he said. "I did the right thing."
Colin Moynihan contributed reporting for this article.
Posted by: 94c
a wannabe future grandstanding politician.
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Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times
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