2 Auxiliary P.O. LODD in NYC

[MP134 5]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/15/nyc.shootout.ap/index.html

[helicopper 1,050]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/15/nyc.shootout.ap/index.html

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First off, this is a tragic incident and my condolences go out to the families and peers of the auxiliary PO's.

Is NYC out of its collective mind? How do they continue to put APO's out on the streets and in the subways in the same exact uniform as regular PO's without a weapon and with only 40 hours of peace officer training?

Does the training tell them to pursue an armed suspect? I sure hope not - maybe the training doesn't tell them NOT to chase them clearly enough. I always thought they were supposed to be eyes and ears for the regular PO's - not attempt to apprehend violent suspects.

At the very least, they should change the uniforms so they're not mistaken for real cops anymore. Of course, the City probably enjoys having people think they have more cops on the street than they do since they're all dressed alike and most people couldn't tell the difference between a PO and a door man.

And you have to wonder just how bad the service was to pi$$ the guy off enough to shoot a waiter 15 times! Sheesh... It will be interesting to see what they find out about his motive.

[AFS1970 504]

When the NYPD was wearing Light Blue so die the APO's. When the change (back) to Dark Blue happened I remember reading on a different board that the APO's lobbied hard to change right along side of the rest of NYPD. I personally think that someone who is willing to shoot a police officer will do so regardless of what color shirt he is wearing. This, like all LODD's, is a senseless tragedy. But the blame here lies squarely with the assailant, not with the clothes.

[nycemt728 49]

There is unfortunately not enough difference between the uniforms. The few diffrences there are are not enough. They include the diff shield shape, the word auxillary above the regualar nypd patch and the obvious lack of a gun. Even I who knows the difference has to take a sec or two to look and make sure whos who. Now, obviosuly in a crunch, a perp is NOT going to observe any of this. He is simply see the navy and think cops. I agree, it probaly done to give the appearance of more cops on the street.

This is one reason my VAC has refused to switch over to navy. We routinely get calls to the projects and even in our white shirts, we stll get mistaken for cops. This is a horrible tragedy. I was under the impression they did not even attempt to stop the perp, they just were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Chris you are correct, the rules strictly say no getting involved, but I've heard some pretty wild stories. Its obvious, with little supervision, stuff does happen that doesn't always fit the rules. In this instance, i don't think pink uniforms would have made a diff, this guy didnt want to go in. My condolences to these two heros families. As far as I'm aware there is no requirement that auxillaries vest up for their regular patrols (not that this would have helped in this instance) but I would focus on this a prime saftey issue as well as the uniforms.

[CPAGE 2]

Maybe the city should give the Aux PO's fire arms training and deadly force training before letting them go on patrol. The city has armed security guards all over the 5 boro's then you also have armed guard on the money trucks who have no traing. At the least let them have a gun while on patrol and take it from them when not on duty. I also feel this should be done for the DOT guy's who are on every other corner in the city train them as well. They all can make a difference. All of the mutts have guns without any training.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris Page