After rapper-actor Ice T was arrested on Tuesday—allegedly for driving with a suspended license, after being caught driving without a seat belt—he furiously Tweeted that the "punk bitch rookie cop named Fisher #10026 Made the arrest of his bullshit career today" and insisted "My license in not suspended. I don't and never had a NYC licence. I have a valid NJ licence. It was all bullshit...." He also told the Post, "I think [the cop] got his rocks off bringing me in the station in handcuffs... I stopped breaking the law a long time ago. I ain't trying to get in trouble." more ›

First, some fire fighters' unions spoke out against presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. Now a police officers' union is totally anti-Rudy. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch issued a statement blaming the former mayor for not giving cops raises ("zeroes for heroes" contract) and essentially creating the recruiting/retainment problems the NYPD has. And then there's what the PBA thinks about Giuliani's 9/11 record: Giuliani has wrapped himself firmly in the cloak of 9/11 for his... more ›

Jose Rivera, who shot at a car full of undercover cops, hitting one of them, was sentenced to 16 years in jail. In February, while driving in Park Slope-Prospect Heights, Rivera thought that the cops were giving him a dirty looks and yelled at them, "You got a beef?" and then fired. The police fired back and later, Rivera's police officer wife seemed to try to cover up the shooting by parking their bullet-ridden car far from their home. more ›

About 14% of new police recruits have dropped out of the latest Police Academy class of over 1,000 recruits, and some are worried that the city's crimefighting programs will be hurt. Notably, "Operation Impact," which Police Commissioner Ray Kelly credit withs helping decrease crime by 25-30% by concentrating cops in those "impact areas" may be without more police officers. Kelly blames the attrition partly on the low starting salary of $25,100. more ›

Yesterday, the three men charged with first-degree murder of police officer Russel Timoshenko all pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn court. However, Dexter Bostick, Robert Ellis, and Lee Woods, who were also charged with a number of other crimes related to the July 9 traffic stop shooting, did not ask for bail. The Post and Daily News had the varying statements the men gave investigators:

Woods, 29, told detectives "I ain't going to jail for something I didn't do. I didn't shoot no cops, I was only driving. Fat boy [Bostic] was in the passenger seat and that faggot Roger [Ellis] was behind me." more ›

One of the saddest images from yesterday were the parents of slain police officer Russel Timoshenko, weeping at Brooklyn criminal court after the arraignment of the three men accused of Timoshenko's murder. The suspects, Dexter Bostic, Robert Ellis, and Lee Woods, were arraigned last week on charges including attempted murder. It is believed that Bostic, firing from the front passenger seat, shot 23-year-old Timoshenko in the face and neck during a July 9 traffic stop (Ellis allegedly fired at police officer Herman Yan; Woods was the driver). Timoshenko had been on life support since the shooting and was declared dead on Saturday. more ›

The Friday night shooting of an unarmed driver in the Bronx has sparked more tension between the NYPD and community. The victim, Fermin Arzu, who was shot by an off-duty police officer in the Longwood section of the Bronx, was an immigrant from the Honduras, and the senior Honduran diplomat, Javier Hernandez, criticized the police in the NY Times: "The police cannot shoot crazily or indiscriminately. Before, there was courtesy, now there is intimidation, and I think it should be the other way around." more ›

You know that beating of a rookie cop in Queens from yesterday? It turns out that suspect Danny Fernandez was staking out cops so he could steal a gun. Fernandez had been waiting three hours until decided to attack Officer Joseph Cho with a baseball bat in Jackson Heights at 1AM. Luckily, fellow rookie cop Patrick Lynch saw the attack and chased Fernandez - who ended up running into a third rookie, Christine Schmidt. Lynch and Schmidt arrested Fernandez. more ›

We love hearing about foiled scams, but this one takes it a step further. A robber tried to force his way into the Queens home of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch (pictured). more ›

A series of robberies at the 7th Avenue F train subway station in Park Slope has allegedly prompted the NYPD Transit captain to order officers to "stop all black male teens" there, according to the NY Post. Cops are apparently supposed to stop and question teens, while filling out "250 forms." This, of course, has set off a frenzy from different unions and organizations. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Assication's Patrick Lynch said, "Ordering police officers to stop every black male teenager is against the department's racial-profiling prohibition and creates more trouble for the officers than it will solve," while 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care head Eric Adams said, "We're going to go to the Seventh Avenue station and do observations," given the NYPD's past abuse using 250 forms. more ›

So, why did the union reject the MTA's last offer? The MTA was now offering 3% raise increase for year 1 of a 3 year contract, then 4%, and 3.5% for the final year, up 1.5% from last week's offer - which is still much less than what the Transport Workers Union wanted (8% for each of the 3 years), but the TWU had signaled they might agree to it. However, the pensions and benefits were the sticking point, and this was what the MTA was asking for:

The authority dropped its demand to raise the retirement age for a full pension to 62 for new employees, up from 55 for current employees. But the authority proposed that all future transit workers pay 6 percent of their wages toward their pensions, up from the 2 percent that current workers pay. [Via the NY Times]

Transit Workers Union president Roger Toussaint announced that no progress had been made. From the news footage, he seemed negative...but then said he was hopeful a contract could be reached with precious little time. Other union leaders - Randi Weingartern of the teachers' union and Patrick Lynch from the policemen's union - also appeared and spoke to support the TWU. There are rumors that the union will "freeze the clock" but nothing has been confirmed. more ›