Two Bronx cops have been suspended from the department after they allegedly fled the scene of a deadly crash they may have caused.
As first reported by the New York Daily News, the NYPD confirmed on Thursday that two officers assigned to the 50th Precinct had been suspended without pay for fleeing a crash that left a man dead.
According to police sources, the officers started pursuing a Honda down the Henry Hudson Parkway toward Manhattan during the early hours of April 2 after they spotted the car, which police said had been reported stolen. However, during the chase the driver lost control at around 5 a.m. and crashed into a ball of flames.
The officers involved allegedly panicked at the sight of the explosion and fled the scene, leaving the driver to die in the fire. His identity has not been released.
Sources said the two officers allegedly did not report the incident to their superiors, an omission that could result in possible criminal charges on top of the suspension.
“That incident is currently under review by our Force Investigation Division and the Attorney General’s office. The two officers who were involved in that incident have been suspended pending review of the incident,” a DCPI spokesperson told amNewYork.
The suspension comes months after Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch ordered cops not to engage in pursuits for lower-level crimes.
“The NYPD’s enforcement efforts must never put the public or the police at undue risk, and pursuits for violations and low-level crimes can be both potentially dangerous and unnecessary,” Tisch said in a January statement.
