\u201cHe\u2019s been grounded,\u201d Waldhelm said after we asked about Giovansanti\u2019s status in the department and his rank as the second-most-dangerous driver in the five boroughs. Being \u201cgrounded\u201d means Giovansanti cannot pilot an NYPD squad car by himself.<\/p>\n
Waldhelm clarified that the punishment is a downstream consequence of the internal affairs inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiovansanti is currently under investigation by the internal affairs bureau,\u201d he said. \u201cWe took action to prohibit him from driving a department vehicle until the conclusion of that investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waldhelm\u2019s comments are the first since Streetsblog\u2019s story stunned<\/a> the city and divided<\/a> its law enforcement community. Several New Yorkers described<\/a> their own terrifying encounters with the cop. Within weeks, state legislators passed a bill<\/a> that will require Giovansanti and other super-speeders to install speed limiters in their vehicles.<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n \t\t The investigation deepens<\/p>\n Waldhelm\u2019s comments indicate the NYPD\u2019s attitude toward Giovansanti\u2019s behavior has evolved since Streetsblog\u2019s original story in April. The department initially downplayed<\/a> his speeding tickets as unrelated to his job. A week after the story\u2019s publication, an NYPD spokesperson told<\/a> the New York Times that his tickets were \u201cunder review\u201d \u2014 a vague statement that signaled a perfunctory, small-time investigation that would go nowhere.<\/p>\n But the involvement of the NYPD\u2019s Internal Affairs Bureau<\/a> is no small thing. The division is tasked<\/a> with \u201cdetecting, investigating, and bringing to justice the small number of New York City police officers and civilians who engage in misconduct and corruption.\u201d The IAB\u2019s participation means the department\u2019s main inquiry into Giovansanti\u2019s behavior has migrated from a little-known precinct on Staten Island to the department\u2019s powerful bureaucracy in Manhattan. <\/p>\n His speeding tickets are now the direct concern of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Mamdani. That could set up a fight between the two, or between them and Giovansanti\u2019s union, the Police Benevolent Association.<\/p>\n The revelation of the IAB inquiry comes after the NYPD and Mamdani\u2019s City Hall repeatedly refused to answer even basic questions about Giovansanti\u2019s speeding record and his status in the department.<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n \t\t The NYPD, in particular, took unusual steps to frustrate Streetsblog\u2019s reporting. Citing a Muslim holiday that fell on May 27, the department cancelled<\/a> the 120th Precinct\u2019s community meeting that was scheduled for the same day. A department spokesperson subsequently threatened<\/a> to publicly accuse Streetsblog of Islamophobia after we asked why other precincts were able to hold their own community meetings on May 27, while the Staten Island precinct scrubbed its meeting.<\/p>\n The precinct meeting<\/p>\n Approximately 15 residents and a handful of representatives of local politicians attended the 120th Precinct\u2019s community meeting on Wednesday evening, in a first-floor meeting room in its St. George station house. Around two dozen officers lined the room\u2019s perimeter.<\/p>\n After a half-hour ceremony where precinct leaders handed out six \u201cCop of the Month\u201d awards, the leaders opened up the room to questions. The first question, from a local resident, was about digital security. The second question, from another local resident, was about Giovansanti. The room\u2019s mood immediately shifted as the assembled cops grimaced and looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cOfficer Giovansanti almost ran over someone<\/a>, and we don\u2019t know how his crimes are being addressed,\u201d the second resident said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to know.\u201d <\/p>\n Waldhelm answered that he could not comment about the internal affairs investigation because it is \u201cway above me.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n \t\t A third resident asked about how supervisors detect the behavior of officers like Giovansanti. \u201cPolice officers are not being held accountable for their vehicles outside the 9- to-5,\u201d said Nicole Meyers, who serves as the president of the NAACP\u2019s Staten Island chapter. \u201cWhat are you doing to address that?\u201d <\/p>\n In response, Waldhelm claimed that he is \u201cnot privy to their personal driving records until it rises to the level of a crime.\u201d <\/p>\n This is false. Waldhelm has access to his officers\u2019 personal driving records because in New York State they are public<\/a>. All Waldhelm had to do \u2014 but did not \u2014 was collect the license plates of his subordinates and look them up in city records<\/a>.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the NYPD\u2019s patrol guide<\/a> forbids officers from receiving an official NYPD parking placard for their personal vehicles if they incur \u201cfive or more red light camera violations or 15 or more school speed camera violations\u201d in a 12-month period. This policy obviously requires NYPD personnel to look up those violations on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n In other words, Waldhelm appears to be actively disobeying official NYPD policy, and will continue to do so, in order to protect cops that endanger New Yorkers with their cars. It\u2019s unclear, however, whether Giovansanti has ever received a parking placard.<\/p>\n The NYPD, the IAB, the officers\u2019 union, and Giovansanti himself did not respond to requests for comment. City Hall declined to comment.<\/p>\n If you have a tip about this story, please get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\tRecommended<\/p>\n
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