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I think rfdu39's explaination is the most likely one.

There are more than a few problems with the NYPD system. The dispatchers/call takers are underpaid and over worked. But there are other problems. One poster mentioned a call taker not knowing where 233 street was, the problem with that is you have to know if it is East 233 or West 233 St. The computer will not accept it without the correct prefix. The calls are not borough specific, a call from the Bronx does not get answered by a Bronx dispatcher, it gets answered by the next console thatis up. This person may not be familiar with the area. The call taker may be born and raised in Queens and may have never been to Bronx, and would have no idea that 233 needs a E or W. I am using 233 and the Bronx as an example, but there are other similar problems in other boroughs. Take some of the streets in Manhattan, the numbered streets need an E or W, depending on which side of 5 ave. it is on.There is only one 58 St and Broadway, but the computer will only take W 58 and Broadway. But, go to Brooklyn, some of those streets may sound like Manhattan streets, you can have 58 Street and 3 ave and there is no E or W. for that street. If the dispatcher was not familiar with Brooklyn, they may think that the caller is in Manhattan and assume they are at E 58 Street and 3 Ave on the eastside, but that is not the case. But then there are some numbered streets in Brooklyn that do have E or W prefixes. Confused about NYC? Lets not even talk about Queens, is it 79 St, 79 Ave, or 79 Pl? If you get a caller that is not specific, and you get a dispatcher that is not familiar with the area, you can see what could happen. If it is a landline phone, ani-ali will give the location and the problems are not as big. This is only part of the problem. The system is broke and has been for a while.

The issue is with perception, as the original poster stated, he initially pulled over for it. I agree with giving all possible courtesy to a funeral procession, be it big or small. But I can see a problem if some motorist may mis-identify the vehicles as emergency vehicles. I think that a mini-strobe bar light, headlight strobes and grille lights might be an overkill for a courtesy light. If it is going to cause any confusion, maybe another form of I.D. should be used. I remember years ago, cars would have their headlights on while part of a procession, but now with many cars equipped with Daytime running lamps, that is ineffective. I do not recall ever reading that purple lights were ok for Funeral Homes to use, unless the VTL has changed in the past few years.

In a related vane.... Back in the early 90's I was involved in a vehicle chase from the Bronx into Westchester County. I was probably 0300 hours or so and the chase went up I-95 through the New Rochelle Toll plaza. We lost the vehicle shortly after that and we were returning to the Bronx. As we drove south on the Thruway and entered the Toll Plaza (this was pre-EZ Pass) I pulled up to the toll both clerk and waved and was about to continue my journey back to the Bronx, when the clerk began waving and yelling for me to stop. I did and he requested that I pay the toll. I rolled my window down, stuck my head out and made an exaggerated inspection of my marked unit, looked back at him, pointed to the department logo on the door and told him that they would pay the bill. I then drove away without another word. It is probably close to 20 years ago and I have yet to hear from them.

An analogy could be me not paying my car insurance. When I get into an accident, should I then expect the insurance company to cover my damages if I make a claim on a policy that I have not paid for?

Several posters have written post that point out that NYS law and NYPD differ when it comes to firing upon a vehicle. While this is true, it may not apply in this case. This may not have been a case of firing on an occupied vehicle. In reading some of the stories about this incident, it appears it is possible this may have been an accidental discharge while stuggling inside the vehicle with a perp. If that is the case, the discussion regarding firing on a moving vehicle is mute.

I think it was back in the '70s, but, IIRC, back then, the City Island Firehouse was staffed as a "Combination Fire Company". They operated with an engine and truck, but operated with a total of 1 officer and 6FF. I do not recall all the details, maybe someone else can fill in with a bit more detail regarding how that operation worked.

You are referring to the "Felony Murder" provision. The law states that the death must be of a "non-participant in the crime" A fellow perp does not rate.

I remember in the late '70s or early '80s, an FDNY oldtimer (he was retired then) telling me that the reason that NYPD ESU was doing rescues was because years before, he referred to the '30s or '40s, the FDNY was mainly focused on firefighting and the non-fire rescues were mainly handled by NYPD. This set-up continued for years. I was told that prior to the '80s, the rescue companies were the only ones with rescue equipment. Considering the fire load back then, the 5 rescues were often busy with fires, the Squads did not have the equipment back then, so the NYPD got some of the non-fire work by default. Is this true? I do not know, this was a story I was told over 30 years ago, and I may have a few points wrong, and the source has since passed away.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A firefighter is dead and five others have been hurt battling a warehouse blaze in Bushwick. All six were taken to Woodhull Hospital. Two were in critical condition and four were in serious condition when they were taken to the hospital. Sources tell CBS 2 that a FDNY lieutenant was one of the firefighters inside the warehouse battling the blaze. Minutes after the lieutenant emerged from the warehouse, he went into cardiac distress. He was taken to the hospital and died. The 3-alarm blaze broke out at around on Flushing Avenue in Bushwick at around 1 p.m. and was brought under control just before 4 p.m.

Who owns the radar? Did the FD pay for it? How is it that the Chief could be in position to run radar when a call comes in? Does he sit there waiting for a call? Are these calls real? If not, who called them in? Why is it that the Chief is not responding to these emergencies? There are other ways of handling this, were they tried?

How is he determining speed? Is he running radar? Has he ever been trained in running radar or estimating speeds? My assumption would be he is not qualified nor certified. If an untrained official ran radar on me and posted the results in a "negative" manner for all to see, I would take a copy of the posting and go find a ligatious lawyer and see what he says. This is wrong on several levels. There is training and instruction, and then there is overstepping bounds.

I remember the the last "nightclub" their old chief ran in the Bronx, it was on Westchester Ave until it "burned" one night. I think that occured in the early 2000's.

Unfortunately for the DEP Police, due to the salary, disability and retirement, many DEP cops use it as a stepping stone for other local Police jobs. They are the lowest paid Police in the area.

I have also found the site to be significantly slowed since the update. (home computer and work computer)

I do not know of the policy regarding FD so I will not comment on that part. As far as PD goes, the NYC Transit has always allowed on or off-duty NYPD PO's to ride the trains and buses in the confines of NYC free of charge. This has been their policy probably since the trains were steam powered. If you saw a off- duty Police Officer being denied entry, it was not because he wanted to ride for free, it must have been another reason. If a station agent denied a PO entry on to the system, on duty or off, he had better have a good reason, it would lead to a big p*ssing match between the unions and the PD and MTA bosses. (NYC trains and buses are operated by the MTA, which operates the LIRR and Metro North) Before Colin Ferguson, the LIRR and Metro North RR had no policy for off-duty PO's, it was handled by the individual conductor. Since Ferguson the MTA came up with a new policy. for Metro north and LIRR, local police agencies can apply for passes for their members. These are specific to each line, meaning the Metro North pass cannot be used on the LIRR and vice versa. These passes have the individual officers name and dept. and are not transferrable. The policy specifically states for on and off duty use. The MTA NYC trains and buses have a slightly different policy. All members of the NYPD are issued Metro Cards which allow unlimited access to any NYC train or bus in the city. The policy specifically states for on and off duty use. There is no longer a need to show a shield or ID at the booth or to the driver, just swipe it and go, like any other anonymous rider.

The only question that will receive an answer will be question # 3. They will make themselves known though their next round of tomfoolery, but the answers to questions 1 & 2 will remain mysteries.

I have not heard nor saw these until I saw the video, but one thing that comes to mind is that at a high rate of speed, that is a very small surface area you have to get in contact with the tire to be effective. If you are too close, will the perps car hit/catch the extendable bar and possibly cause your car to swerve?

I have met people who have college degrees and little work experience that have made great employees, I have seen military vets who have turned out to be almost useless. I have met 22 year olds who have had their heads on straight and I have met 40 year olds who were never going to figure it out. The original poster's question is not one where there is a single "fits all" answer, the only answer that may fit might be : It depends on the individual.

It is hard to make out, but the original photo looks like it has a "dealer" plate.

"I thought that I had heard about a fire apparatus museum somewhere in NY State that will hold and display antique fire trucks that are owned privately." 'I do not know too much about them, but there is a private organization with a warehouse full of privately owned apparatus in Orange County. It is called Catskill Fire Cats, or something similar (try google). I do not know anything about their criteria for stowing apparatus, I do not know if they rent out space or whatever, but it may be a start.

"And will see alot of Fleet(FSD) cars too patrolling." Cars that are marked "FSD" are from the Fleet Services Division. That is the NYPD's "repair shop" That is the motor Pool. They are loaner cars, normally given to Pcts when they run short of cars due to the Precincts regularly used vehicles being out of service. They are not any "additional patrol", but rather the usual cops on patrol, but using a loaner car.

It would depend upon the Precinct. Some are much bigger than others, in population and/or land area. Some precincts may field 4-5 cars on a tour, some may field 8-10. They may be a few precincts that only put out 3 cars.Some precincts may have 120 PO's assigned, some have over 350. In Manhattan, sectors are small, several square blocks, but some precincts in, say a quiet residental area in Queens or Staten Island may be several square miles. A lot of it has to do with population density and how busy the area is.

If I recall, when I last saw them, they were calling themselves Bronx Fire Patrol # 4, now you say you saw them as Indepenence Volunteer fire Co. # 4. Let's see, we go from Aviation fire, to Bronx Fire Patrol, to Independence Fire and back to Aviation. This appears to be all in the last ten years. What is up with them, they seem to keep changing the name. This group appears to look better each time I read about them.

The incident I had did not involve any Fire Truck, it involved a private vehicle that some former Volunteers put stickers and lights on and started riding around with a scanner. The good samaritan act may apply if you are the only one available to help, such as walking down the street and seeing someone having a heart attack and no one else is around, but if there are trained personnel already on the scene, then just showing up and starting to operate at the scene without any authority or coordination could easily fall under "obstructing governmental adminstration". The directing of traffic, when police and FD are already on the scene and not asking for help, could also violate disorderly conduct, and a host of VTL violations, such as, who authorized the blue lights. I am sure that a few minutes with the NY Penal Law and a copy of the VTL, I could come up with others. The fact that they "fled" when police started asking questions, leads me to believe that that they would have a hard time justifing anything they did.