New York Times — April 7, 1999
The New York City Police Department has ordered a former Chief of Patrol, William Bracey, to turn in the gun it issued him 53 years ago. The reason: Last week, Bracey, 79, for the first time ever, got himself arrested.
Bracey, of Jamaica, Queens, was among the hundreds of people who blocked the entrance to Police Headquarters on March 29 to protest the Feb. 4 police shooting of Amadou Diallo.
But when Bracey opened his mail Tuesday, he discovered the price of his civil disobedience: a curt Police Department letter instructing him to hand over his Smith & Wesson .32-caliber handgun until the department has completed an investigation of the charges against him.
« How could they take my pistol license away from me, and I haven't done anything? » said an incredulous Bracey, who has not yet decided whether to comply with the letter's orders. « It's just a matter of human decency. I didn't think that anyone in the New York Police Department would stoop this low. »
Bracey took the letter as an affront to his police career. He was given his gun, after all, when he entered the Police Academy back in 1946. Though he doesn't wear it often, he likes having it around, he said.
He was not carrying his gun at the demonstration, he said. Two other retired police officials who were arrested with him received the same letter, he said.
Bracey said he was certain the form letter was part of a personal vendetta by police brass.
« This didn't come from any patrolman or sergeant, this came from the top of the department, or City Hall, » he said in a telephone interview.
A Police Department spokeswoman, Marilyn Mode, denied any other motive behind the suspension of Bracey's gun license other than « routine, standard procedure. »
« When the Police Department learns of an arrest, yes, a letter is sent and the person's license is suspended, » Ms. Mode said Tuesday.
There is hope for a happy ending. Like the 1,200 or so other protesters arrested during the weeks of demonstrations at 1 Police Plaza, Bracey is expecting Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan District Attorney, to ask a Criminal Court judge today to unilaterally dismiss those charges, as Morgenthau has suggested he would.
If Morgenthau does that, Ms. Mode said, Bracey would likely have his gun permit reinstated.
But just in case, Bracey said, « I have an attorney. »
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