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Public
Employee Press Court
busts Police Dept. for blocking an Urban Park Rangers promotion
Urban Park Ranger
Bruce Langston is an exemplary employee of the Parks Dept. But when he applied
for Peace Officer status two years ago with glowing performance evaluations,
recommendations from managers, military service and college credits the
Police Dept. said no.
He called Local 983, which fought back and won with
the aid of the DC 37 Legal Dept. Langston completed training as an Urban Park
Ranger. The unarmed UPRs patrol city parks, maintain crowd control and issue summonses.
As a condition of employment, they must be deputized as Peace Officers by the
NYPD so they can make arrests.
To be deputized, he had to complete an application
including full disclosure of prior arrests and convictions, even where charges
were dismissed, and authorize the release of information from his confidential
and sealed records. The background check revealed arrests the Police Dept. said
Langston had not explained in the required notarized statement.
Although
Langston produced certificates showing that those charges had been dismissed 15
years ago, the NYPD denied his application.
Grievance Rep and Local 983
Treasurer Thomas Testa handled Langstons appeals, which took 18 months and
ended up in state Supreme Court, where DC 37 Assistant General Counsel Joseph
Barrett represented him.
Langstons application should be considered
in the light of the presumption of rehabilitation and policy considerations underlying
the Correction Law, ruled the judge, who ordered the NYPD Licensing Division
to hold a hearing to consider evidence as to Langstons character and fitness
for the position of Urban Park Ranger.
This was a significant victory
because courts seldom overrule such agency decisions, explained Barrett.
On
April 18 the Police Dept. deputized Langston as a Peace Officer. I am very
happy that my union stood by me and my supervisors believed in me, said
UPR Langston.
Local 983 is proud that our member was able to win
Peace Officer status and keep his job, said Local President Mark Rosenthal. | |