Davis took over Mount Vernon Police Department even before firing commissioner

7/11/13 9:05 AM

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Davis took over Mount Vernon Police Department even before firing commissioner
Originally published: February 20, 2013 1:22 PM Updated: February 22, 2013 4:16 PM By TIMOTHY O'CONNOR timothy.oconnor@cablevision.com

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Photo credit: Angela Gaul | Police Commissioner Carl Bell shakes hands with Mayor Ernie Davis after the mayor read a proclamation during a special Police Appreciation Day ceremony on the steps of City Hall in downtown Mount Vernon. (May 16, 2012)

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A month before Mount Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis fired Police

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Davis took over Mount Vernon Police Department even before firing commissioner

7/11/13 9:05 AM

Commissioner Carl Bell, Davis was already meeting with members of the Mount Vernon police force and offering advice on how to police the city, officers told Newsday on Wednesday. A couple of weeks later, Davis spoke at a morning roll call for officers Commissioner Bell 'blindsided' by firing starting their 8 a.m.-to-4 p.m. shift. "He told officers he was concerned about them, that we mattered and that getting crime under control was important for the entire city," said Sgt. Gregory Addison, president of the Mount Vernon Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. PHOTOS: Property owned by Mount Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis VIDEO: Mayor Ernie Davis responds to investigation into his finances | Feds investigate Mount Vernon finances | Feds probe Mt. Vernon's Hurricane Katrina relief fund MORE: Mount Vernon mayor fires Police Commissioner Bell | Making Mt. Vernon safe seen as key to revival | Mount Vernon homicide rate soars in 2012

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Addison said that the 205-member PBA welcomed the news on Tuesday that Davis had fired Bell at a heated, one-hour City Hall meeting, ending the top cop's 2 1/2-year tenure as head of the embattled department. "No effective strategy for policing the city was ever communicated to us [by Bell]," Addison said. "That had an effect on morale and on our ability to fight crime."
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Property owned by Mount Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis

Bell told Newsday on Wednesday that it's his understanding Davis will be running the Police Department until a new top cop is named. "Unfortunately, that's the case," Bell said. "That's what he's wanted all along." "None of my command staff is going to be running the department," Bell said, referring to the senior police officials who served under him. Addison said that Davis had made no mention of a replacement for

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Bell in a meeting with officers Wednesday morning. "I assume based on the chain of command it would be Chief [John] Roland," Addison said. Roland did not return calls seeking comment.

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Davis was unavailable for comment, said his assistant, Shari Harris. Later, at his office, Davis declined to meet with a Newsday reporter.
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Bell told Newsday on Wednesday afternoon that his downfall came about not because he failed to fight crime in the streets, but because he attempted to fight crime in the Police Department. "We had officers getting into bar brawls, committing grand larceny, forging overtime reports, the most incredible things," Bell said in an interview. "We had one officer who got drunk and stole a cellphone, another who got drunk and waved his gun at civilians." Bell said he investigated the incidents and reported them to Davis. Only one officer was disciplined internally, he said. Another Mount Vernon officer, Joseph Russo, 47, was indicted last week for
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Davis took over Mount Vernon Police Department even before firing commissioner

7/11/13 9:05 AM

allegedly claiming $226.60 in false overtime. "Instead of terminating them, these are the ones he's meeting with to decide how to get rid of me," Bell said of Davis. "He interfered on their behalf when he should have been backing his commissioner." Meanwhile, Addison accused Bell of "mudslinging" and "exaggeration." "He says these things on his way out the door. That's not behaving like a leader," Addison said. The PBA president said Bell had the power to act against wayward police officers where action was justified, including the right to fire officers for serious offenses. "Why didn't he arrest them if that's what he says was going on?" Addison said. In hindsight, Bell said, that is what he should have done. "If I had it to do over, I would have just locked them up." Bell spent Wednesday morning packing up his office at Mount Vernon police headquarters, said one of his senior commanders. Bell has said he has personal days he plans to use until his termination officially takes effect Friday. Bell, 49, a decorated federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent and supervisor, was appointed police commissioner by Davis' predecessor, Clinton Young, in August 2010. His relationship with Davis deteriorated steadily after Davis, 74, reclaimed the mayoralty in the 2011 election. Davis had been mayor for three successive terms before losing to Young in 2007. As the city endured a wave of violent crime during the past year, Davis exerted progressively greater control over the department. In all, Mount Vernon had 10 homicides last year, more than the previous two years combined. There were more than 20 shootings in the city in all. Only two of the 10 homicides that occurred last year have led to arrests. Toward the end of last year, Davis' office began issuing police news releases, previously done by the Police Department. Davis told Newsday in December that he -- not Bell -- would be responsible for establishing a major case squad within the department and for retraining the department's officers in the area of interaction with the city's 67,000 residents. In an interview with Newsday in December, Davis vowed changes to the Police Department. "I could run that Police Department," Davis told Newsday. "You don't have to be a police officer to run that Police Department." Separate from his firing of Bell, Davis is the target of a federal investigation into his finances. Federal prosecutors are investigating how Davis came to own more than $1 million worth of residential properties in four states and whether he reported to the IRS all the rental income he has collected from those properties. Davis has denied any wrongdoing. Blacks in Law Enforcement of America issued a statement Wednesday denouncing Davis' firing of the highest-ranking black law enforcement official in Westchester County, calling it a "reckless move" by the mayor. "Commissioner Bell was best suited in bringing the Mount Vernon Police Department into modern times and finding new ways of addressing the influx of illegal weapons and gang violence within Mount Vernon," the group said in a statement. With Christian Wade User rating:
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Davis took over Mount Vernon Police Department even before firing commissioner

7/11/13 9:05 AM

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