Tag Archives: Paul Browne

NYPD top spokesman Browne lands job at Notre Dame

July 18, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

The chief spokesman for the New York Police Department on big stories such as the failed 2010 Times Square car-bombing has landed a job at the University of Notre Dame.

Paul Browne was named Thursday as the university’s vice president for public affairs. He’ll start Aug. 19.

Browne has been the voice of the nation’s largest police department for more than a decade. He’s also been a close adviser to police Commissioner Raymond Kelly during a period of record declines in serious crime and when the NYPD was criticized for its secret surveillance of Muslims, a program detailed in a series of stories by The Associated Press.

Critics have accused Browne of duplicity in his defense of the program. But Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have called him tireless and trustworthy.

Notre Dame’s president say Browne is highly qualified.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

NYC officials seek human remains amid plane debris

April 27, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Police say the alley near the World Trade Center where landing gear believed to be from a Sept. 11 hijacked plane was found remains a crime scene until medical examiners finish looking for human remains.

On Saturday, police were guarding the alley, which was secured as a crime scene two blocks from the trade center site. Police say it will be protected until the search is completed.

Workers this week discovered a rusted piece of landing gear wedged between a luxury apartment building and a mosque that had prompted virulent national debate about Islam and freedom of speech.

Police spokesman Paul Browne says the twisted metal part includes a Boeing identification number.

The two planes hijacked by terrorists in 2001 were made by Boeing.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

NYC race beefs up security after Boston Marathon bombing

April 20, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

New York Road Runners is enhancing baggage security measures for a 4-mile race on Sunday in Central Park in response to the Boston Marathon bombings — and the New York City police department is bringing in extra cameras for added surveillance.

The NYPD purchased 100 mobile cameras it will use at the race as a result of the bombings, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Friday. There will also be significantly increased police presence at the race as well as at a 5K run/walk to the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum on Sunday, he said.

Runners were being encouraged not to bring bags to the City Parks Foundation Run for the Parks, but people who do will be asked to put all their belongings in a clear, plastic bag provided by race officials. The NYRR cautioned runners that any unattended bags will be confiscated.

Runners in shorter-distance events have traditionally been allowed to use their own bags to stash their clothes and other post-race items, which are stored in a designated area staffed by volunteers. But many longer, larger races tightened their gear-check policies several years ago, requiring all runners to use a bag — often clear — provided by organizers. Organizers of the half-marathon and marathon in Austin, Texas, for example, have been providing runners with clear plastic bags for their belongings for almost a decade.

At Sunday’s London Marathon, only gear stored in the official bag provided by race organizers will be accepted. Next weekend’s Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and Half-Marathon, organized as a tribute to the victims of the 1995 bombing that killed 168 people at that city’s federal building, only accepts gear in the clear plastic bag it provides runners.

New York Road Runners puts on dozens of races a year, including the New York City Marathon. The club did not say if the policy for Sunday’s run will extend to future races.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/ENa3EcPm8pA/

News, Politics, Government

Police ramp up security in major cities after Boston bombings

April 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Police in Los Angeles, New York City, London and other cities worldwide are stepping up security following explosions at the Boston Marathon.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore says the department has opened an emergency operations center, increased patrols for transit and other critical areas including the Los Angeles Dodgers game Monday night

Chief NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Monday that critical response teams are deployed around the city. Officials are stepping up security at hotels and other prominent locations.

British police also say they are reviewing security plans for Sunday’s London Marathon. It’s the next major international marathon. A London Metropolitan Police spokesman says police are working with marathon officials to review security plans.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/oRKppGJ81eY/

News, Politics, Government

3 dead in apparent double murder-suicide by NY cop

April 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

New York City police say an officer apparently shot her boyfriend, turned the gun on her 1-year-old son and then shot herself in an apparent double murder-suicide.

The three bodies were discovered Monday in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. Authorities say the officer’s teenage son escaped through a window and called 911. The teenager was not hurt.

Chief police spokesman Paul Browne says the boyfriend was found in the entry of the first-floor apartment. The bodies of the officer and her baby boy were found on the bed.

It’s not clear how many shots were fired. No names were released.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/gc7v2X4m96M/

News, Politics, Government

Suspect in NYC hit-and-run crash that killed family reportedly plans to surrender

March 6, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Police worked through the night searching for a man suspected of driving the car that killed a pregnant woman, her husband and ultimately their child in a wreckage-strewn crash as a $15,000 reward was offered for information.

Police on Tuesday said they’d had no contact with Julio Acevedo, 44, and early Wednesday he’d still not turned himself in although a friend said he planned to surrender.

“We are still looking to apprehend him,” police spokesman Paul Browne said. “We have no information that he is going to surrender.”

Acevedo told the Daily News of New York Tuesday that he was speeding away from a gunman who was trying to shoot at him early Sunday when the accident with a hired car happened in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

The car was carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21. They died Sunday and their premature son died on Monday.

Members of the couple’s Hasidic Jewish community have offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to Acevedo’s capture and called for murder charges to be filed.

Acevedo told the Daily News that he fled the scene because he was worried he’d be killed and didn’t know the couple had died until he saw it in newspapers.

“My heart goes out to them,” Acevedo told the newspaper Tuesday in a phone call arranged by a friend, Derrick Hamilton. “I didn’t know they died until I saw the news.”

Hamilton said Acevedo was running for his life after the crash, and called it a terrible accident. He told The Associated Press that Acevedo was meeting with a lawyer and that they were going to arrange for Acevedo to turn himself in.

Police said Acevedo was in a BMW going at least 60 mph when he crashed. The hired car had a stop sign; it’s not clear if the driver stopped.

Acevedo was arrested last month on a charge of driving while under the influence, and the case is pending. He was stopped by police after they said he was driving erratically around 3 a.m. Feb. 17. He had a blood-alcohol level of .13, over the limit of .08, police said.

Acevedo served about a decade in prison in the 1990s for manslaughter after he was convicted of shooting Kelvin Martin, a Brooklyn criminal whose moniker “50 Cent” was the inspiration for rapper Curtis Jackson‘s current stage name. Neighbors said his mother lived in the same building, but she did not answer her door.

Shortly after midnight Sunday, Raizy Glauber, who was seven months pregnant, wasn’t feeling well, so the couple decided to go to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber‘s cousin. They called a livery cab, a hired car that is arranged via telephone, not hailed off the street like a yellow cab.

The crash with the BMW reduced the cab to a crumpled heap, and Raizy Glauber was thrown from the wreck. The engine ended up in the back seat. The driver of the livery cab was knocked unconscious but was not seriously hurt.

The couple belonged to a close-knit ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, which …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

NYC lawmaker warns that killer may be targeting gay men in Queens

February 12, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

A New York City lawmaker is warning gay men that a killer may be targeting them in Queens.

MyFoxNY.com reports that Councilman Daniel Dromm says that two homosexual men have been murdered within a week of each other in his district, which encompasses the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst sections.

The first murder occurred at 32-23 91st St. on Feb. 3, and the second occurred one week later on Saturday at the Crown Motor Inn at 74-01 Queens Blvd.

In both cases, the middle-aged victims were strangled and no signs of forced entry were found, Dromm said.

The latest victim was reportedly identified as Joseph Benzinger, a 54-year-old man who recently retired from the Department of Sanitation.

Neighbors told DNAinfo.com that Benzinger was a friendly man who enjoyed going fishing with his father, who lived with him in the borough’s Middle Village section.

“He just helped my wife shovel the snow yesterday,” neighbor Rudy Borbor told the website. “When I first moved in … he came over and he said, ‘Rudy, if there’s anything I can do, let me know.'”

Borbor continued: “It breaks my heart. It really does. I feel for his father.”

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told FoxNews.com that investigations into the homicides were ongoing, but said the murders do not appear to be related.

Click for more from MyFoxNY.com.

FoxNews.com’s Joshua Rhett Miller contributed to this report.

News, Politics, Government

NYPD releases 2011 stop-frisk figures, nearly 90 percent stopped were black or Hispanic

February 5, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

The NYPD has released a report that breaks down its controversial stop and frisk policy by precinct and race.

The 2011 figures show nearly 90 percent of those stopped for “reasonable suspicion” were black or Hispanic. Together, the two groups comprise less than 53 percent of the city’s population.

Brooklyn’s 75th precinct, covering East New York and Cypress Hills, had the most stops. Ninety-seven percent of the more than 31,000 people stopped were black or Hispanic.

The figures show a total of 685,724 people were detained in 2011.

The New York Civil Liberties Union fought for the release of the figures last year.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne tells the Daily News charges of racial profiling were unfair. He says there are more stops in some precincts because they have more crime.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Gun found in 7-year-old's backpack at NYC school, police say

January 18, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Police say a 7-year-old New York City boy brought a gun and ammunition to school in his backpack.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne says it’s not clear whether the boy knew it was inside, or whether it was stashed by someone at his home.

Police say his mother learned the gun was inside and told officials at the Queens elementary school that her son had a dentist appointment. She then asked him in private about the weapon. The boy apparently also brought a flare gun with him and told his mother he’d given the weapon to a friend.

The school was locked down. The friend was found with the flare gun. The backpack was searched and a semi-automatic pistol was found.

The investigation continues; no charges were filed.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

NYC boy, 7, brought gun to school in backpack, police say

January 17, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Police say a 7-year-old New York City boy brought a gun and ammunition to school in his backpack.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne says it’s not clear whether the boy knew it was inside, or whether it was stashed by someone at his home.

The school was locked down. The friend was found with the flare gun. The backpack was searched and a semi-automatic pistol was found.

The investigation continues; no charges were filed.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

NYPD: Man in custody in fatal Manhattan fire

January 11, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

A man is in custody on suspicion of intentionally starting a fatal five-alarm fire Thursday in a New York City apartment building as part of a domestic dispute with his child’s mother, authorities said.

Charges are pending against the unidentified 45-year-old suspect, who lived in the now fire-gutted five-story building at 41 Spring St. in the fashionable Soho district of Manhattan, according to police spokesman Paul Browne.

Witnesses saw the suspect start the fire in a second floor hallway at about 6:40 p.m. after a domestic dispute with the woman, Browne said. He said the woman and the child are accounted for.

One person was killed in the fire. Browne said the unidentified victim was apparently not part of the dispute and was found on the third floor fire escape burned beyond recognition.

An off-duty firefighter from Los Angeles, who was dining in the area, spotted the flames and ran over to the building where he was confronted by the suspect who wouldn’t let him into the building, Browne said.

The suspect also fought with a police officer and New York City firefighters who were trying to enter the building. The suspect was treated at a hospital for bruises and a police officer was treated for a broken hand, Browne said.

About 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, which quickly spread to the upper floors and through the roof, according to FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito.

Esposito said firefighters had to use the rear fire escape and portable ladders because the heavy fire had burned away the stairways.

“We had an extraordinary amount of fire,” said Esposito. “The fire encompassed all the walls and all the floors.”

Esposito said the fire completely gutted the inside of the building and at least nine people, including seven firefighters, suffered minor injuries. It was declared under control at 9:20 p.m.

“It’s essentially destroyed and it’s not going to be livable for quite some time,” Esposito said of the building.

A neighbor who lives two buildings down from the fire, Juliet Gentile, 35, said she was home and smelled smoke. She said she went up to her roof and saw the flames.

“As soon as I saw that I got to get out of here,” said Gentile. “It was coming right out. The whole thing was in flames.”

The American Red Cross said their disasters responders were at the scene to provide emergency housing, blankets, mental health support and other forms of assistance.

_____

Associated Press writers Tom McElroy and Tom Hays contributed to this report.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Man suspected of starting deadly NYC fire as part of domestic dispute