Auxillary Cop Busted, Fired For Carrying........Mace?

By David Greene
Bxnews.net

A volunteer of the Auxiliary police force was stripped of his badge and shield and arrested, after showing up at a July 4 deployment, for carrying a canister of Mace.　

NYPD Auxiliary Police officer Alexander Gonzalez, 44, , who resides in the area of Webster Avenue and E. Tremont Avenue, is a father of four who volunteered an average of 20 hours a month for the last three and-a-half years. He said he was treated like a common criminal by a ranking officer, even though he believes he accidentally broke an NYPD rule and not a law.Gonzalez, a volunteer at the 1ST Precinct, recalled the incident at W. 38 Street and 10th Avenue, stating, “It was all because I was carrying Mace… This cop just came up to me, gave the order, took my shield and took my ID -- in front of everybody, civilians and co-workers and other officers -- and he called my supervisor.”

Gonzalez was handcuffed in front of stunned onlookers, seeing one officer arresting another. On orders of the ranking officer, Gonzalez was taken to the 10th Precinct where he was photographed and fingerprinted before his release from custody after about seven hours in a holding cell.Days after his arrest Gonzalez stated, “I was in uniform, I was arrested, I was handcuffed and I was processed into the system.”

Gonzalez added he was given, “No warning, no regard,” during the incident.Gonzalez, who recently passed his recommended sergeant’s exam, continued, “I love the department, I love to serve my community.

I like to see my community safe.”Gonzalez said he had just returned after a 3 ½ hour commute from his job as a bail enforcement agent in Pennsylvania, where he is allowed to carry Mace at his job, when he said he was running late and forgot to take the Mace off his belt.“As a civilian, some people are carrying it,” Gonzalez charged, referring to the $20 to $30 can of the liquid, chemical or gas repellents, adding, “I hear the law in the State of New York allows people to carry Mace for protection.”　　

Gonzalez again recalled the July 4th Incident, “I didn't have three minutes in the area, when the Captain noticed and pulled me to the side and, acting like I was a perp, like I was a criminal on the street, took my shield off. I thought I was with the NYPD and I see the NYPD Captain arresting his own officers.”Gonzalez, who claims he felt “violated,” will go before a judge on July 28. A press conference is expected to be held on the steps of City Hall, where fellow auxiliary officers are expected to join with Gonzalez in solidarity.

Gonzalez said, “I would like the department to have just a little bit more consideration and give us just a little more protection," to auxiliary officers.Gonzalez, who captured a midtown rapist and a subway mugger before joining the NYPD, added, “In other cases, I see we can be assaulted by civilians and if we use the baton to protect ourselves, that’s using a lethal weapon. Civilians have more rights than we do as we try to protect and serve our community.”

William Rivera, the founder and board member of the Auxiliary Supervisors Benevolent Association stated, “We feel it’s going to be dismissed. We think it's an unlawful arrest,” and vowed, “to show the police department they were wrong.”Rivera continued, “We've been fighting for the NYPD to allow auxiliary of officers to carry Mace for awhile now and we're waiting for a final decision… Mace is a less lethal weapon than a nightstick, and we should be required to and allowed to carry it,” as police officers of the NYPD currently do.

“He did not commit a crime,” Rivera claimed, “He committed a department violation which is questionable… when you break the rules in the department, you don't get arrested.”That claim was argued by Paul J. Browne, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information at the NYPD, who stated, "Neither police nor auxiliary officers are allowed to carry Mace. It's against the law for civilians to carry it, too." Browne conceded, "Some forms of pepper spray are permissible, but not Mace."

Deputy Browne continued, "The auxiliary officer was prohibited from carrying Mace both by law and by regulation. The fact that he claims to be a bounty hunter helps him not at all."In an article published in the Daily News on July 14, Browne told a reporter, "It is against our policy for auxiliary officers to carry Mace," but made no such comment that it is against the law to posses Mace in New York City.So who's right? Well, one would need at least a Fordham law degree to read through and understand the legislation.

If you searched for the information on the Internet, you would find different pieces of legislation for New York City's five boroughs, giving conflicting information.One would also find more than a handful of websites offering it for sale to city residents with a disclaimer that its use and possession is, "at your own risk, and you assume all responsibility and liability for owning and carrying," Mace.

Rivera had taken up the fight with a copy of the 1997 New York State Penal Law's, "Exemptions of Weapons Law", in which section 265.20 gave exemptions to a person over 18 years of age, who has never been convicted of a felony or any type of assault.But a revision by the City Council to the New York City Penal Code in 1996 , instituted in a gun control provision, outlaws sale, purchase and possession unless a person legally obtains the Mace from a licensed gun dealer or pharmacy, registers and pays $10 for a license and a $5 annual fee.

Peter Howard Tilem, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's office and currently a partner of the White Plains law firm Tilem & Campbell, explained, "Mace in 1996 was made legal by the New York State Legislature, in response to a lot of demands from victim's rights group."Tilem added, "The legislature made it legal in New York State, the New York City Council made it illegal," in New York City. The rules get even murkier when it comes to peace and police officers.