7/28/2019 Letter #2 to Nichelle Final

1/4

April 8, 2013

Nichelle A. JohnsonCorporation CouncilMt. Vernon City Hall1 Roosevelt Square,

Mount Vernon, NY 10550

Dear Ms. Johnson,

We are sending you this second request, in reference to the city's legal position on the continuousemployment of Mount Vernon Police Sargent Michael Marcucilli. Our last communication wassent on March 11, 2013, via FEDEX. It was also given to the Mt. Vernon City Council on March13, 2013.

As your office is aware, Mt. Vernon Police Sergeant Michael Marcucilli has faced numerouscomplaints and civil lawsuits including a 2010 lawsuit for assaulting a retired Black CountyPolice Officer. He is also still on desk duty for assaulting a 15 year old boy in the side of thehead with his night stick while he was in handcuffs in 2009. In both of these cases, SergeantMarcucilli was found guilty in civil court. It has been reported by the Journal News that this oneofficer has "cost the city taxpayers $937,000 in legal fees, judgments and settlements."

We are also aware that the Mt. Vernon City Charter (enacted in 1922) exclusively governsdisciplinary procedures within the Police Department. According to the decision in the AppellateCourt, City of Mt. Vernon v. Cuevas, and 289 A.D. 2d 674 (3e Dept 2001), this decision firmlyestablished the City Charter as the exclusive source of discipline in the Mt. Vernon PoliceDepartment.

The essence of the ruling is simple. The PBA or the City of Mt. Vernon cannot hide behind N.Y.

CVS. LAW 75, section 4. Whereas no removal or disciplinary proceeding shall becommenced more than eighteen months after the occurrence. This does not and cannot apply tothe reason that the City of Mt. Vernon refused to dismiss a city employee that has cost $937,000in taxpayer funds. In addition to that, he was found guilty of violating the rights of individuals.

Accepting Our Responsibility to Rebuild Our Community

New York Office

405 Tarrytown Rd. #1318

White Plains, New York 10607

1-877-218-8835

Blacks in Law Enforcement of AmericaA National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Professionals

7/28/2019 Letter #2 to Nichelle Final

2/4

As a national organization of law enforcement professionals, we ask the City of Mt. Vernon andit's representatives, why is Sergeant Marcucilli still working? Why did the city governmentinterfere with the disciplinary process while undermining Commissioner Bells authority to

discipline these rogue police officers when the city has had the exclusive authority to disciplineofficers?

Second, Newsday reported a very disturbing statement from the newly appointed Deputy PoliceCommissioner according to the unconstitutional and controversial policy of Stop N Frisk.Your Deputy Commissioner is quoted saying "I think it's (Stop N Frisk) underutilized here.

Your office should be aware that Civil rights attorneys have argued that these policies exist inviolation of our constitutional rights. Judge, Shira A. Scheindlin of Federal District Court inManhattan, said that elements of the New York Police Departments Stop N Frisk practice were"deemed unconstitutional."

Racial profiling gives police the new authorization to stop Blacks without cause, a tactic that isused in NYC Stop N Frisk. With a city like Mt. Vernon, with a population of approximately 85% African American, along with the racial issues that has already plagued the department. Itwould be an unwise decision to implement this policy in Mt. Vernon Police Department. Thereare organizations that are ready to file suits against Mt. Vernon if this policy is implemented inany way that will violate the citizens of Mt. Vernons rights. (Please see attached)

Finally, as stated in the last communication, the City of Mount Vernon has failed to implement aproper Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) that had been in the Mt. Vernon City Chartersince 1982. CCRBs have evolved in the last three decades as a creditable tool of oversight oflaw enforcement policies and procedures. After many conversations with your office, the

Mayor, the City Council and the Ethics Board, the city has failed to implement or revise saidlegislation. A current outline of national standards according The National Association ofCivilian Oversight of Law Enforcement was given from our organization to all parties in June of2012. You reached out to me personally stating that you received the outline and close to a yearlater, I have not received a response from you or your office.

With the recent news reports of police misconduct and possible police crimes, it should beimperative to create a system of checks and balances of accountability of our police department.By failing to correct the problems in the Police Department in Mt. Vernon, the Mt. VernonElected Officials and Appointees are failing their fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers. As thetaxpayers agents, Elected Officials and Appointees should be establishing proper law

enforcement oversight legislation that will create checks and balances for protection of thetaxpayer and the law enforcement officer. The citizens of Mt. Vernon should not be subjected tothe Usual Politics of the Police where the complaint process is so corrupt that citizens feel noneed to file complaints because nothing will get ever done.

7/28/2019 Letter #2 to Nichelle Final

3/4

Thank you for your time in this matter. We hope to receive a timely response.

Sincerely,

Damon K. JonesDamon K. JonesNew York RepresentativeBlacks In Law Enforcement of America914-374-5037

cc: Ronald HamptonWashington D.C. RepresentativeBlacks In Law Enforcement of America

Bonita E. Zelman Esq.Legal Council

City CouncilMount Vernon, New York

City Board of EthicsMount Vernon, New York

David J. KennedyChief, Civil Rights UnitSouthern District of New York

Westchester Coalition for Police Reform

7/28/2019 Letter #2 to Nichelle Final

4/4

Letter: Police, don'timport stop-and-friskOriginally published: March 29, 2013 3:08 PM Updated: March 29, 2013 3:22 PM

Local police departments should think twice before they emulate the New York CityPolice Department's aggressive and discriminatory stop-and-frisk practices.

Used lawfully, stop-and

-frisk is a legitimate law

-enforcement tool. However, the NYPD's

rampant abuse of the tactic violates the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands ofinnocent people annually and sows mistrust between police officers and residents of thecity's communities of color.

Data suggest that racially biased policing is already widespread in Westchester. Forexample, blacks were nearly 12 times more likely than whites to be charged with low-level marijuana misdemeanors in the county, according to government statistics for2011. Increased use of stop-and-frisk tactics would likely intensify the problem.

The leadership structure of the large police agencies in the county provides further

cause for concern: In the Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkersand White Plainspolice departments, of the more than 100 law enforcement personnel holding the ranklieutenant or higher, only three are black. What is more, these departments lack anyindependent oversight structures, such as New York City's Civilian Complaint Review

Board, that might mitigate police misconduct.

Westchester County law-enforcement agencies would do well to implement communitypolicing models that build trust between police officers and the public they serve, ratherthan adopt the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy.

The New York Civil Liberties Unionis part of the Westchester Coalition for PoliceReform, a group of community members and organizations united to increasetransparency and accountability among area law enforcement agencies.

Daniel E. Berger, White PlainsEditor's note:The writer is the director of the Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the NewYork Civil Liberties Union.