Bloomberg Criticizes NYC Judge Who Let Alleged Cop Killer Free

Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference today (NYC Mayor's Office)

As the investigation continues into the death of police officer Peter Figoski, who was fatally shot in the face while responding to a home invasion robbery in East New York, there has been finger-pointing about suspected shooter Lamont Pride. Pride, wanted on an outstanding warrant in North Carolina, was arrested twice in NYC; NC authorities appeared to lag in extraditing him and a NYC judge decided to free him without bail. Bloomberg had harsh words for the judge.

Bloomberg said today, "The reason [Pride] was not behind bars the last time is that a judge here in New York not only didn't put him behind bars, she didn't even think it was appropriate for bail. And he had a long history of not showing up. He had a long criminal record." According to the Post, "[Bloomberg] was referring to Judge Eveyln Laporte, who allowed Pride to go free in his own recognizance when he was arrested on a drug bust last month, ignoring a $2,500 bail request from the DA's office and a warrant from North Carolina."

Pride was wanted for allegedly shooting a man, RayShawn Maberson, in North Carolina earlier this summer. He was arrested in September for illegal possession of a knife in Coney Island and was released after time served. He did not stay out of trouble: The NY Times Jim Dwyer wrote:

In early November, when the police raided an apartment in Brooklyn, Mr. Pride was among three people arrested on drug charges. He was not the target of the raid, and when the police prepared his arrest record for the court, a stamp appeared prominently on the cover: “No hit.”

That is, there was no hit on a warrant that could be acted on — the authorities in North Carolina had already stated that they did not want to bring him back to face charges for the shooting of Mr. Maberson unless he was arrested in their state.

During the arraignment of Mr. Pride and the others in the drug case, the Criminal Court judge, Evelyn Laporte, was told about the warrant for his arrest in North Carolina. The Brooklyn prosecutors asked for $2,500 bail, which is a high amount for the kinds of charges that he faced in the drug raid. The transcript of the hearing shows that the judge, concerned primarily with the welfare of two children living in the apartment, released him without bail.

A police commander in Brooklyn called the authorities in Greensboro to ask about the warrant, and on Nov. 8, they upgraded its urgency to call for Mr. Pride’s extradition. By then, he had been released in the drug case. He did not resurface until his arrest on Monday morning in the shooting of Officer Figoski.

Bloomberg also said, "The district attorney did seem to try to get bail and came back again when the judge said no bail . But if you're talking about somebody who the rap sheet in front of you shows is potentially a dangerous person, has a gun, has a criminal history, common sense says don't let him out until you make one phone call. It's not a lot of work to do to protect the public. It wasn't done here, plain and simple."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 14, 2011 5:22 PM

Comments [rss]

Bobby Potter

She can kiss that job goodbye! Hasta la vista mami!

splinterfoot

stfu bloomfck. just hire your own judge to call it like you see it, like the last time you defied a court order.

AzzTech

What I find interesting about this, aside from the grandstanding, is the subtle racism in his statement. He's saying that bail should have been set at $2,500 solely because he was there during a drug bust. And that that would have kept him in jail and thus from shooting that cop, because he's black and poor.

All those who are rounded up during drug busts should have bail that you can't afford, so you don't shoot cops.

Obamatheracist

Nothing subtle about the racism here...black man shoots white cop...pretty obvious racism there

Adam Moreira

Not sure that the judge. can be blamed here---I would put the real blame on officials in North Carolina, who refused to change the terms of the fugitive warrant so that he could have been extradited back to the Southeast. There should be questions about this asked in the North Carolina media, but so far the topic hasn't even been touched there.

Obamatheracist

Wow a liberal judge fucking up again,shocking.Why do liberals love criminals sooo much?Liberal democrats destroying this country one day at a time..

GalBklyn

hmm. seems to be a few missing links. Like how long did it take the police - or dare I say it - the DA - to call down to NC to get this thing fixed. Seems it was done after the guy was released. hmf. Not to mention why NC saw fit not to seek extradition in the first place.

No Mike -- there are many issues here. Stop taking the easy road (i.e. blame the woman) and look at the whole tragedy, how it came about and how you can make sure it doesn't happen again.

Adam Moreira

The police called right away---it's North Carolina officials who took their sweet time.

LICnative

He fled one jurisdiction after committing a felony, then was arrested and charged with multiple other crimes in a different jurisdiction.

No job, no community ties, flight risk, active criminal. If THIS guy doesn't meet the conditions for the impositon of bail, who does?

sk83r

Black female judge, black thug, you solve the equation.

whodiditandran

How sad is it that comments like yours are almost inevitable?

Guest

Eveyln Laporte's ruling to release Lamont Pride was unfortuate

the4thcoming

Was this NY judge supposed to rearrange North Carolina's warrant? Is she somehow responsible for North Carolina's screw up on the warrant?

And who the fuck is Bloomturd to criticize anyone!? He's a spiteful and inconsiderate lil scumbag whose been shitting on NYC for a decade.
It should've been HIM to eat that bullet.

Kimberley Truelove

You're just lovely.

sluggita

This is awful anyway you look at it. I read the article about the judge, can't believe she made the decision to let him go w/no bail. After so much dedication and hard work to get where she is, one poor choice got a policeman killed and ruined her reputation. Tragic all around.

yahoo-2QVQ6T5QSX3S4OGX3X25XRKT2E

Does the mayor know anything about the bail statute? What bail is for? He sounds pretty ignorant of the law.

Bronxalien2013

Hey put it plain and simple that the judge found it too hard to do her job correctly. Second guessing doesnt cut it. Someone got killed for her fuck up.At least bail. My homeboy had to make bail for some stupid bs and his case was a non violent offense with no record.

Innajunglestylee

Pathetic grandstanding, but what else do you expect from this guy.

whiteiris

How stupid are you?

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

No kidding. The law is good only when it applies to him and his buddies.
Not to mention all the judge mandates his administration ignores.