NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell intervened to save the job of a decorated Latino cop who called a suspect the N-word during a tense arrest in the Bronx, the Daily News has learned.
Sewell, the first Black woman to lead the Police Department, went against an administrative judge’s recommendation to fire Officer Benito Cruz. The officer yelled the slur as he held down the head of a tasered suspect — a 25-year-old Black man — in the Bronx in 2018, according to newly released NYPD documents.
Sewell declared her decision in an April memo, pointing out the officer’s “otherwise stellar history” as she imposed an already-served 30-day suspension, docked him 45 vacation days and ordered him placed on a one-year “dismissal probation.”
That means he’ll be closely monitored for a year and could be sacked without a hearing if he steps out of line.
Shanna Bass, the mother of Jeremiah Bass, the suspect who was chased and called the N-word, told the Daily News she’s disappointed with Sewell’s decision.
“I feel like the justice between the police and the public has always been uneven,” said Shanna Bass, 52. “It’s hard for a person to prove their rights when it comes to the police force.”
Cruz was one of three officers facing disciplinary charges after the dicey 2 a.m. arrest outside the Mitchel Houses on July 29, 2018, according to a report by Deputy Commissioner of Trials Josh Kleiman.
Cruz and another officer, Mariano Bulfante, were responding to a report of a suspect with a gun while a third officer, John Manzo, arrived at a bodega on Willis Ave. to disperse a disorderly crowd. The crowd was made up of the remnants of a Family Day celebration at the housing complex that wrapped up hours earlier.
Cruz and Bulfante joined Manzo when Jeremiah Bass refused to leave, cursing and telling the crowd not to listen to the cops. Bass was trying to intervene in the arrest of his brother, according to his mother.
“The [cop] was cursing him out, cursing out other people that were there,” Shanna Bass said. “My son responded back.”
When another cop, Sgt. William Miller, tried to arrest Jeremiah Bass, he pulled away, smacked the sergeant’s hand, pushed off of him and ran, according to NYPD documents.
“My son got nervous and he started running,” Shanna Bass said.
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needs to be benched...
