Tuesday, November 29, 2005
What was Rudy Giuliani thinking?
Wednesday August 27,1997..I spent the night wondering why I was arrested on that old warrant, McGuinness found it early in his investigation of the Bx.Zoo light but it didn't concern him or Rudy since there were no media stories in print YET, why alert Jimmy to an old dead warrant that is unenforceable. I was up early and waited for my newspaper. When it came
I saw immediately my picture (page4) exiting the police car with McGuinnes and Sgt. Gang hand on his gun. the story was aptly titled,"zoo signal snitch busted". The NY Times had a story, "man who videotaped police arrested on old charge" and add this "NYPD reject charges of entrapment at zoo" and NY Newsday also had the story of cops
rigging the traffic light and arresting the man who called Rudy on his talk radio show for help. Later WOR-Channel 9 and WPIX (now UPN) called me for an interview. The one thing inn common about the coverage was it all made Rudy and his police dept. look like, as Jim Dwyer put it,"tin pot terrorists" operating out of a banana republic. Why the rough treatment of Jimmy? Were the cops guilty of mis-conduct? Did Rudy order Jimmy's arrest? This Bronx Zoo
traffic light became a hot issue? During the Mayor's Daily Press Briefing the subject of my arrest came up.
Reporter: Were the police a little bit overzealous arresting Jimmy on a 13 year old warrant?
Rudy: I was not involved in that arrest. So I can't tell you if it was or wasn't uh,overaggressive or not overaggressive. They would really have to tell you that. I was not involved in deciding it, I don't know the background of it.
Reporter: Did you get involved in deciding the arrest?
Rudy: Do I decide(Mayor is laughing)? No. Very rarely. If it's a case of,if it's of major importance to the City, I might have some involvement in that. After all, the Mayor ultimately is responsible for the Police Department. I mean, the Mayor is ultimately responsible for what happens. If it were a terrorist case,a case like the shootings on the Brooklyn Bridge..Um,in this particular case,in the Louima case I went out front, and demanded that police officers come forward, and explained to them what I thought if they didn't come forward. That would be a rare thing to do. But I thought it would be helpful given the knowledge that I have of uh,police mentality and police thinking, the background I have as having been a former uh,United States Attorney,I thought it would be helpful if they heard me, in all the precincts in the City say, you better come forward, otherwise you don't understand what it means to be a police officer. I thought it would have some effect. I thought it would have effect if the Police Commissioner did too. But I thought it would add something to it if the mayor said that, and I think it's helped.
Reporter: Bronx traffic light (inaudible) Videotape of that light
Rudy: Yeah,I, the Police Department has analyzed that,and the Police department has a different conclusion that they were engaged in a valid enforcement exercise that is being unfairly characterized. So, I have to, I have to leave that up to the Police dept. and the citizens to resolve. They both seem to be making a point. I have no reason to believe that the Police Dept.is wrong about it. if I did I would then,you know get involved in it. But the Police Dept. says they were involved in a valid law enforcement exercise that is being misrepresented in a way that that it...it's being presented.
Rudy: I actually got this complaint on radio,and turned it over to them,and that's what started all this. But since I turned the complaint over to them (NYPD) I've stayed out of it,I've left it up to them...(documents will later show it was Rudy and the Commissioner who ordered my arrest)
I saw immediately my picture (page4) exiting the police car with McGuinnes and Sgt. Gang hand on his gun. the story was aptly titled,"zoo signal snitch busted". The NY Times had a story, "man who videotaped police arrested on old charge" and add this "NYPD reject charges of entrapment at zoo" and NY Newsday also had the story of cops
rigging the traffic light and arresting the man who called Rudy on his talk radio show for help. Later WOR-Channel 9 and WPIX (now UPN) called me for an interview. The one thing inn common about the coverage was it all made Rudy and his police dept. look like, as Jim Dwyer put it,"tin pot terrorists" operating out of a banana republic. Why the rough treatment of Jimmy? Were the cops guilty of mis-conduct? Did Rudy order Jimmy's arrest? This Bronx Zoo
traffic light became a hot issue? During the Mayor's Daily Press Briefing the subject of my arrest came up.
Reporter: Were the police a little bit overzealous arresting Jimmy on a 13 year old warrant?
Rudy: I was not involved in that arrest. So I can't tell you if it was or wasn't uh,overaggressive or not overaggressive. They would really have to tell you that. I was not involved in deciding it, I don't know the background of it.
Reporter: Did you get involved in deciding the arrest?
Rudy: Do I decide(Mayor is laughing)? No. Very rarely. If it's a case of,if it's of major importance to the City, I might have some involvement in that. After all, the Mayor ultimately is responsible for the Police Department. I mean, the Mayor is ultimately responsible for what happens. If it were a terrorist case,a case like the shootings on the Brooklyn Bridge..Um,in this particular case,in the Louima case I went out front, and demanded that police officers come forward, and explained to them what I thought if they didn't come forward. That would be a rare thing to do. But I thought it would be helpful given the knowledge that I have of uh,police mentality and police thinking, the background I have as having been a former uh,United States Attorney,I thought it would be helpful if they heard me, in all the precincts in the City say, you better come forward, otherwise you don't understand what it means to be a police officer. I thought it would have some effect. I thought it would have effect if the Police Commissioner did too. But I thought it would add something to it if the mayor said that, and I think it's helped.
Reporter: Bronx traffic light (inaudible) Videotape of that light
Rudy: Yeah,I, the Police Department has analyzed that,and the Police department has a different conclusion that they were engaged in a valid enforcement exercise that is being unfairly characterized. So, I have to, I have to leave that up to the Police dept. and the citizens to resolve. They both seem to be making a point. I have no reason to believe that the Police Dept.is wrong about it. if I did I would then,you know get involved in it. But the Police Dept. says they were involved in a valid law enforcement exercise that is being misrepresented in a way that that it...it's being presented.
Rudy: I actually got this complaint on radio,and turned it over to them,and that's what started all this. But since I turned the complaint over to them (NYPD) I've stayed out of it,I've left it up to them...(documents will later show it was Rudy and the Commissioner who ordered my arrest)
