Four female officers from the 33rd Precinct in New York City’s Washington Heights are facing possible disciplinary action for posing with two nearly nude male strippers at a senior center Mother’s Day event.
via NYDN:
In the photo, all four cops flash wide smiles as they lean into the stripper’s buff bod — with one gleefully pointing to his G-string — as a second stripper, wearing a sailor hat, dances in the background.
An NYPD recruit appears to have taken the picture.
Two of the cops were identified by sources as Neighborhood Coordination Officers Amber Guzman and Nathalie Lebron.
The photo was taken May 13 at the annual Mother’s Day celebration at the ARC Senior Center on Broadway near W.173rd St. — and quickly circulated through the NYPD over the weekend, eliciting plenty of smirks.
“What were they thinking?” chuckled one police source.
Sgt. Jessica McRorie, a police spokesman, said the cops weren’t aware the strippers would be present at the event.
“The senior center participants encouraged the officers to pose for the picture,” she said. “The commanding officer is aware and will address the incident at the precinct level.”
A cop at the 33rd Precinct defended the officers, saying it was all harmless fun.
“Everyone’s having a good time there,” he said. “It’s not like the cops are the ones stripping. Come on, how does that not make those cops more endearing? They’re there having a good time with the people there.”
Neither Guzman nor Lebron responded to emails. Guzman avoided a News reporter to went to the precinct station house.
Neighborhood policing is one of the cornerstones of the NYPD’s current crime-fighting philosophy, with NCOs spending chunks of their time building bridges with residents, merchants, community groups, all with an eye on learning about crime and conditions.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill has made the program the signature initiative of his tenure.
This is silly. How about disciplining police officers for — you know — the routine harassment and abuse of people of color?
