Latest news with #Detectives'EndowmentAssociation
New York Post
26-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Widow's last goal: Secure a place on NYPD heroes' wall
NYPD officers who died from COVID-19 during the pandemic deserve to be treated — and enshrined — as heroes, family and union officials are urging. Detective James Abear's death in 2020 was as if he was struck by an 'invisible bullet,' his still grieving widow Catharine Abear told The Post. Abear was a Special Victims Division sleuth visiting crime victims in Queens hospitals when the virus invaded the borough's emergency rooms in early 2020. 5 Widow Catherine Nicole Abear lost her police officer husband SVD Det. Raymond Abear to the Coronavirus five years ago. Leonardo Munoz 'My husband went out there every day,' said Abear. 'Even though his job was dangerous, I didn't think this was going to take his life. 'At that very early stage . . . we knew very, very little about the disease and there wasn't a lot of understanding on how to protect ourselves . . . and masks were far and few between,' she added. 'So sadly, he caught it very early on.' When he died on April 13, 2020 at the age of 43, the couple had a 4-month-old daughter, Stella, and a 2-year-old son, Jackson. 5 Abear's children were an 4 months and 2 years old when their father passed away from COVID. Leonardo Munoz Abear's widow wants her husband and the other victims to be memorialized on the Hall of Heroes wall at NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan, where the names of detectives shot and killed in the line of duty and those who died as a result of illnesses connected to the 9/11 attacks are listed. 'For him to be honored by them, that's an accomplishment,' Abear said. 'We have young kids and I want them to stand in the hall at One Police Plaza, look up and say, 'That's my dad.'' Abear is among six detectives who died from COVID to be honored at a five-year memorial ceremony at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica Saturday. 5 Detective Raymond Abear was a detective who frequently went into hospitals before he contracted COVID. Detectives' Endowment Association The others being honored are Cedric Dixon, of the 32nd Precinct Detective Squad, Jack Polimeni, of the Manhattan Warrant Squad, Jeffrey Scalf, of the Bronx Gang Squad, Robert Cardona of the 13th Precinct Detective Squad and Christopher McDonnell, of the Intelligence Bureau. All of them had about 20 years on the job each. 'They all really passed within about two weeks of each other, the six detectives,' Abear said. 'They were the first of the department to get sick.' There were nearly 70 members of the NYPD, including non-uniformed and uniformed employees, who died of the illness. 5 The mom with her two children as her youngest holds a picture of Abear in uniform. Leonardo Munoz 5 Detective Raymond Abear had a street renamed in his honor in 2022. Detectives' Endowment Association Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro recalled how difficult it was for the union to secure protective equipment such as masks, gloves and sanitizer for members in the early days of the pandemic. The department didn't provide the equipment. 'Like all detectives, they faced the front lines of the pandemic with unwavering dedication protecting others even as they risked their own health,' he said. 'Now it is our duty to honor these detectives and ensure their legacies live on for generations.' The families also received line of duty death benefits and have their names on memorial walls, including at Ground Zero and in Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘Not going to sugarcoat it': NYPD faces staffing crisis
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The staffing shortage at One Police Plaza continues to handcuff New York City's finest at all badge levels. NYPD unions warn that a wave of retirements is leading to burnout among cops left to handle heavier caseloads and more shifts. More Local News Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch acknowledges the crisis. 'I'm not going to sugarcoat it—the NYPD is in a hiring crisis, and it's not a budget problem,' she said. All of the city's police unions are sounding the alarm. Scott Munro, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, said, 'I have a little under 1,700 detectives who can retire by the end of the year.' Munro, who took over the union last summer, is working to keep experienced investigators from leaving. 'We used to have 7,200 detectives. It means fewer people on cases,' Munro said. 'Counterterrorism had 150 people after 9/11—there are 12 detectives right now.' When asked whether cases are slipping through the cracks, he responded, 'Not yet, but do we wait until they do?' Munro said current detective staffing is just under 5,000—about 2,000 fewer than before 9/11. So far this year, 390 detectives have filed for retirement, putting the department on pace to surpass last year's total of 453. But officers aren't necessarily calling it a career. Many are pursuing a better work-life balance in other departments and in other states. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Currently, 300 new detectives are being trained, but getting experience takes time, training takes at least 18 months. 'It takes years to cultivate that skill,' said Michael Alcazar, a former NYPD detective who now teaches criminal justice at John Jay College. Alcazar was shocked to learn that the average detective is now handling more than 500 cases a year while also working patrol shifts. 'You learn by doing and being guided by a veteran, and I feel like cases will suffer,' he said. 'Five hundred cases a year is a lot.' Last year, the city's average murder arrest rate was just under 50%. Alcazar warned that the staffing crisis could impact families seeking closure and public safety overall. 'Cases will be delayed. The rate of solving homicides is low now, and that's because detectives are retiring,' he said. The NYPD is working to bolster department staffing to 35,000 officers. 'We are aggressively working toward that goal, and recently, 600 additional police officers hit the streets and the subway system. In January, a new class of 1,000 recruits entered the academy and will be assigned to patrol this year,' the department said in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYPD brain drain: NYC detectives retiring in droves sparks fears of ‘chaotic' crime crisis
The number of detectives in the NYPD has dropped below 5,000 for the first time since the pandemic – and union leaders warn that 1,600 more gumshoes could retire by the end of the year, The Post has learned. There are 4,948 detectives in the NYPD today compared to 7,000 at the staffing peak following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Another 1,676 investigators with at least 19 years or more on the job will be eligible to retire in 2025, union officials said. The Detectives' Endowment Association said 359 gumshoes have already put in for retirement in the first two months of this year — compared to 453 in all of 2024. 'Fewer detectives means fewer terrorism experts, fewer homicide investigators and more fugitives on the street,' Detectives' Endowment Association President Scott Munro said. 'More unsolved crimes. More chaos. Period.' As a result of the dwindling numbers, detectives have seen caseloads swell from an average of 250 per year in 2000 to 500-600 cases or more, the union said. Case clearance rates have remained at about 32% at the end of 2024, the most recent NYPD data available show. But detectives' jobs have gotten more time consuming, as they perform extensive video canvasses, search social media and the Internet, and review more forensic evidence, officials noted. 'They're doing more work with fewer detectives,' said Munro, who took over the union last year. The average detective makes a base pay of about $130,000 per year. Reasons for the decline range from difficulties recruiting new cops to rules that make it beneficial for officers to leave when their overtime is booming, as happened in January when Mayor Adams ordered more officers into the subway to stop surging crime. Munro also attributed the attrition to anti-cop legislation pushed by left-leaning city and state pols that has made the job even more challenging, including the diaphragm law that prohibits cops from putting pressure on a suspects chest and back during an arrest, and criminal justice reforms that have created a revolving door for criminals. As a result of the declines, some units are 'severely understaffed,' including counterterrorism, narcotics, auto crime, individual precinct detective squads, the bomb squad and the arson and explosion squad, Munro said. 'When 911 happened, they filled counterterrorism with like 200 — now they're down to 12,' he said. And the detectives are not alone. The DEA, Sergeants Benevolent Association and Lieutenants Benevolent Association released a joint announcement Thursday that said 1,103 officers from the three unions had retired or resigned in the last three months. 'The NYPD is suffering from a severe retention issue,' LBA President Lou Turco said. 'They simply cannot keep up with the unprecedented exodus of members. We need to retain experienced detectives, sergeants and lieutenants.' A class of 1,045 recruits was hired in January in addition to 653 recruits hired in October and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has been focused on recruitment issues, a police spokeswoman pointed out. Major crime is down 15% citywide — but the dearth of officers could push up Gotham's crime level, said Joseph Giacalone, retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at Penn State University-Lehigh Valley. 'Less experienced detectives are going to play a major role in the next few years,' Giacalone said. 'What a lot of people don't understand is that in the detective bureau experience really matters. If you can't arrest these people and get them off the streets, it's going to lead to further victimization.'
