Does NYPD get to drink on duty?

[Rhino]

I've been hearing this rumor down here in the south for years: That NYPD officers are permitted to have 2 beers with their meal when on meal breaks. This number varies between 1 and 2 every time I hear it.

Any bros in NYPD that can clarify?

[Jim1348]

Are you referring to NYPD officers in uniform and on regular assignment? I am sure they are not. Has it ever happened? I am sure it has. One certain non-uniform assignments, I am sure it is permitted. Can you imagine trying to work certain non-uniform situations and telling others that you can't have a beer?

[Rhino]

Yes, I'm talking about line patrol/shift officers. I understand in specialized situations this is different- as it is down here.

[warrants 1]

I also seem to remember seeing that as well. In fact I saw it on the news down here in SC. I lived most of my life on Long Island and never heard about it until I came down here and it was on, I think, Entertainment Tonight. (wifey had it on...not me)

[kjlaw]

I have heard many versions of this story for many different major departments. I would imagine this is an urban legend.

[pgg]

SFPD was able to also 15-20 years ago.

[Checkman]

I've heard the same rumor only about the Chicago PD.

[Xiphos]

Perhaps "Back in the day" it might have been permissible. I would be shocked if it was allowed the last decade or two.

[Car 4]

In my old shop, you absolutely could not drink on duty.....BUT....you could drink if you were in your dress uni at an official department function such as a formal ball. We used to exchange formal balls each year with the Mounties. After it got drunk enough, we would begin to exchange uni's and other things of value. The Mounties can DRINK.

Car 4

[E-man]

I heard the same thing about Baltimore PD. I thought it was max 2 for Detectives on lunch or something.
Again, per SOP most likely not, in reality, maybe

[CO1259]

In the OLD days of the NYPD, the desk that the desk officer sits at had a small compartment built into it for storing the desk officer's whiskey. Some stationhouses still have this compartment as the desk has been there since the stationhouse was built.

This was related to me by my dad, who's a retired NYPD boss.

[bird1]

I've heard the same rumor only about the Chicago PD.

I must of missed that memo

[bayern]

This may answer some of your questions:

February 24, 2012
4 Detectives Suspected of Drinking on the Job

By AL BAKER

Four New York City police detectives have been placed on desk duty and stripped of their guns and badges amid claims that they drank alcohol at a Washington Heights restaurant while on duty last week, according to a law enforcement official and the detectives’ lawyer.
In addition, the official said that one of the detectives was being investigated by the police Internal Affairs Bureau to determine if he sexually assaulted a waitress there — or if he paid for sex with her.
“We are investigating whether or not one of the officers sexually assaulted this woman,” said the official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the police and Manhattan prosecutors were investigating.
The four detectives, all from the 33rd Precinct, met on Feb. 16 at Parrilla, a steakhouse at Broadway and 164th Street, for a meal that stretched beyond their one-hour break time, the official said. Two of the detectives left for a time, but returned to join the others. One of those who left and came back was off duty when he returned; his shift had ended earlier than the others’ had.
The matter came to the attention of police officials the night after the meal, when a medical worker at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center contacted the department. The waitress had contacted a lawyer earlier in the day and he advised her to visit the hospital, the law enforcement official said. Citing the woman’s account, the official said, she told the authorities that she had fallen asleep in the back of the restaurant and awakened to find one of the owners of the restaurant inappropriately touching her. The official did not release his name.
The waitress, who was not identified, also said she remembered that a police officer had at one point escorted her to the back of the restaurant, the official said. When detectives from the Manhattan Special Victims Squad heard that an officer might be involved, they notified the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the officer gave the woman money for sex, the official said.
“Several hundred dollars may have exchanged hands,” the official said. “And the owner is maybe an intermediary.”
As part of the internal investigation, video footage from surveillance cameras was obtained, the official said. While it was not immediately clear what that footage showed, the official said there was “apparently,” evidence of all four officers drinking wine.
This week, the four officers were placed on modified assignment. No criminal charges have been made.
Michael J. Palladino, the president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the union that represents about 4,000 city police detectives, said he was aware of the investigation. “We have seen in the past sometimes that these allegations are not what they initially appear to be,” he said.
Philip E. Karasyk, a lawyer who represents the detectives, said, “It is our understanding that at no time did the waitress make any allegation of inappropriate sexual conduct against any of the detectives.”
He added, “As recent similar events have demonstrated, it is unfair and unwise to rush to judgment.”
Erin M. Duggan, the communications director for the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said the office was “declining comment.”
A bartender who answered the phone at the restaurant on Friday said she was aware that a waitress “in her 20s” had filed a report with the police, but she could provide no specifics.
A manager, Tony Sanchez, said, “We don’t have any knowledge of anything happening here,” and referred questions to a lawyer. The lawyer, Solomon J. Schepps, said, “I don’t think there will be any wrongdoing proven against the restaurant, or any of its owners.”
Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.


4 Detectives Suspected of Drinking on the Job (Parrilla's, B'way & 164) in THEE RANT Forum