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Commanding Officer Barry Buzzetti of the 34th Precinct and the Commander of the 33rd Precinct Deputy Inspector Brian Mullen discuss public safety issues, including recent shooting death of an Inwood resident by a police officer and a spate of robberies, during CB12 meeting.
Story and photos by Sherry Mazzocchi
For the third time in less than a month, Deputy Inspector Barry Buzzetti of the 34th Precinct addressed an incident that raised questions about the actions of local police enforcement – in this case, the shooting death of an Inwood resident by a police officer.
And while other issues were discussed, and the Commander of the 33rd Precinct Deputy Inspector Brian Mullen too was present, the shooting dominated the agenda.
At the sparsely attended Community Board 12 meeting the evening of Wed., Sept. 7th, Buzzetti spoke about an altercation in which an Inwood resident, John Collado, was shot and killed just the night before by a police officer.
On Tuesday evening, as reported by police, a plainclothes officer from the 34th Precinct was apprehending a suspect on Post Avenue, just off Dyckman Street. The suspect resisted arrest and the officer, who was alone, struggled with the suspect. Buzzetti said that after at least two minutes of physical altercation, a second man, John Collado, 43, came on the scene and grabbed the officer.
The officer fired his gun, hitting the second person in the torso. Collado was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he later died of his wounds.
Buzzetti said that the shooting is now the subject of an “exhaustive investigation” by the District Attorney’s office, the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and Manhattan North.
“We’re bringing in every resource necessary to determine the level of appropriate force,” he said. “A determination will be made by a grand jury.”
In less than a month in his new post as Commander, Buzzetti has had to quickly answer community concerns over an uptick in crime, including a recent sexual assault allegedly by an off-duty police officer, resulting in two previous public forums. This was, however, his first CB12 meeting.
The meeting also explored a wide range of other topics including a crackdown on illegal street purchases of prescription drugs.
Michael Mowatt-Wynn, community council president of the 33rd Precinct, said they are trying to eradicate street vendors who use their business as a cover for the illegal trafficking of drugs prescribed to treat HIV-AIDS.
“People selling the drugs are getting ten cents on the dollar,” Mowatt-Wynn said. The drugs are bought by pharmaceutical companies, repackaged and sold abroad in the Dominican Republic and other countries, he said.
When asked which pharmaceutical companies are purchasing the drugs, he replied, “If I knew, I couldn’t tell you.”
The purchase of and resale of prescription drugs abroad is only a misdemeanor. The state legislature is being encouraged to create laws making it a felony, Mowatt-Wynn said.
Commander of the 33rd Precinct, Deputy Inspector Brian Mullen, discussed two distinct, but possibly related, patterns of robberies. Groups of three to four men and sometimes women are targeting single pedestrians from 155th Street to 168th Street along Broadway. The robberies generally occur from midnight until 8 am. Similar crimes also occur at the 163rd St. C train station during early morning hours. An investigation is underway by both the transit police and the 33rd Precinct.
Electronics like iPads and iPhones are the newest item of choice among thieves, and they are often found for sale in bodegas and barbershops, Mullen said. “It’s a problem throughout the city.”
Buzzetti said that the three murders committed in the past month in the 34th Precinct were all stabbings. In one incident, a man stabbed four elderly tenants in his building, killing two. The other murder involved a 14-year-old who stabbed an older teen in a street fight.
“Stabbing is a more personally motivated, domestically related crime that is particularly difficult to address ahead of time,” he said. In response, the precinct is analyzing reported verbal threats and actual physical household violence. They are stepping up domestic violence outreach in potential hotspots.
Pamela Palanque-North, CB 12 chairperson, said outreach efforts in domestic violence cases should pay special attention to the concerns of immigrants.
Domestic violence is often underreported because people fear revealing their immigration status to authorities, explained Jocelyn Minaya of the D.A.’s Community Affairs Office.
“If you are a victim of a crime, we do not ask if you have illegal status,” she said.
In fact, Minaya said people who take an active part in prosecuting crime could be eligible for a U-Visa, which provides immigration status to victims of domestic violence and certain other crimes.
According to Minaya, an uptick in reported cases of domestic violence is partly due to new strangulation laws passed last year. “Choking was not a charge before,” she said.
Not all the discussion around public safety was as serious.
CB 12 members also sought to promote the Law Enforcement Explorers (LEE) program wherein young people have collaborative experiences with the police department.
George Espinal, president of the 34th Precinct community council, spoke highly of his own LEE experience. “We had a good time,” he said. “They had to kick me out when I turned 21.”
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