Excerpted from ENN Daily Report - 12/25/96 - Vol. 2, No. 360

RANK AND FILE NYPD UPSET OVER "MOONLIGHTING" DEATH
By Jim Fay, ENN NYC-NJ Bureau

NEW YORK CITY (ENN) - The death of a well-respected and well-liked NYPD officer who was working a second job (or "moonlighting") for Christmas expenses, has brought out an angry response from his fellow officers.

Police Officer Charles Davis' family has also experienced another death since his shooting on Saturday (12/21). His wife's father died of an apparent heart attack upon hearing of the death of his son-in-law. He was 73. Also, it is being reported that Davis' wife's brother was killed in the line-of-duty as a Federal Police Officer assigned to the Bronx Veteran's Hospital eight years ago.

Fellow officers of Davis in the NYPD are speaking out and asking why it should be necessary for a police officer to work a second job, especially one that requires the officer to continue to place his life on the line, to make ends meet.

Officers are complaining that the present Mayor of NYC has made political hay on the backs of the police officers that the Mayor continues to credit for the phenomenal drop in crime in New York. But when contract negotiations come up, the city continues to plead poverty at the bargaining table. Officers complain that they haven't had a raise in over two years, but the city offers three and four year contracts with little or no raises in the first two years. Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, however, in a quote in the NY POST, said that the 35-to-40 hour work week "leaves a lot of time for a second job," and that working two jobs "isn't uncommon...at all levels of salary."

NYPD officers are really upset with the recent contract for neighboring Suffolk County officers on Long Island who received a five year contract that has top pay at about $73,000. An NYPD officer presently makes about $44,000 after five years.

All the officers quoted in the NYC media complain that situations such as Davis' would not have to happen if the officers were paid a substantial wage, and could live off of their police salaries. But the "moonlighting" situation is not unique to NYC. Earlier this year, ENN reported on an off-duty Teaneck, NJ, officer that was killed while working part-time in a security capacity at a Sears store in Hackensack, NJ. That officer was transporting receipts from the main store to an office when he was ambushed by robbers.

Part-time security work for police officers has become a important part of the income some officers depend on throughout the US. In fact, many departments make the part-time arrangements for the officers, and some even offer it as part of the hiring package when a new recruit comes on the job. But, whether walking around a mall or a store with (or without) your police uniform is a good policy, or even appropriate, is a question that also comes up. It is apparently easier and cheaper for an agency chief to allow his officers to work security on their days off, than to increase the officers pay to ensure an adequate home life.

Ironically, Officer Davis' assignment with the NYPD was with the Manhattan Warrant Squad. These officers go looking for wanted criminals, and every encounter has a very high danger level. Yet it was at an escort while opening a check cashing store while working part-time security that Davis life was lost.

The funeral for officer Davis will be a joint funeral, also including the funeral for is father-in-law. Davis has a four year daughter.

(C) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996. All rights reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited.