The Blue Executions (17 page)

Galvin remained silent and emotionless on the ride to the hospital.  Over the
ten minute ride to the hospital, Galvin replayed the incident over in his head repeatedly.  He monitored the radio transmissions; feeling completely numb.

“We’re receiving numerous calls of shots fired at the location,” began the radio supervisor.  “Do we have any shots fired at, or by, any members of the service at the location?”

Galvin immediately recognized George Lambert’s voice as the officer who responded.  “Be advised central, we have one shot fired
at
a member of the service.  There were no shots fired by anyone other than the perp.  Show the
M.O.S.
and sector Adam out to Long Island Jewish for trauma to the
member of the service
.”

“Any injuries at this time?” the dispatcher further inquired.

“Central, just keep the units coming here, the situation is not yet under control.”  A large commotion could be heard in the background.

As the police cruiser pulled into the parking lot of Long Island Jewish Hospital he finally heard Lambert’s voice once again come over the air.  “Central no further needed to Foch and Brewer.  Everything is under control.  We have numerous males under arrest to the station house for assault on police officers
—all minor injuries at this time.”

Galvin was relieved to hear that the situation was under control and more importantly that there were not any police officers who were seriously
injured.  Galvin knew that he was only doing his job but he would have felt horrible if any of his fellow cops were seriously injured because of an incident which he precipitated.

He exited the police car to walk into the hospital when one final set of radio transmissions caught his attention.

“Can any unit advise the condition of the perp from Foch and Brewer?”

A chill ran up Galvin’s spine as he anticipated the reply.

There was a short pause before an anonymous officer responded.  “The perp is dead on arrival at Jamaica hospital.”

############################

Chapter 10

Edward Courtney sat alone in his fourteenth floor office at Police Headquarters in lower Manhattan.  He read over the
unusual occurrence report
or the
U.F. forty-nine
as it was known throughout the department, concerning the incident involving Detective Tommy Galvin yesterday evening.

Courtney reflected on the prior night.  He had barely even walked in the door when his cell phone went off; his initial reaction was that the mad man who called himself the Blue Executioner had struck again.  An odd feeling of relief had actually taken over his body when he learned of the incident where a highly decorated detective was involved in a struggle which caused the death of another man.  Courtney clearly did not grasp the seriousness of the situation at first—he had become so engrossed with keeping the serial cop killer from the front pages of the papers that he
temporarily lost focus on the rest of the department.

Courtney continued reading the report, sipping at his coffee as he did.  The
unusual
was longer than most other
forty-nines
he had read over his thirty plus years in the department—yet he was careful to read every word of every paragraph.  It was the fifteenth and final paragraph that caused him the most concern.  The paragraph consisted of one lone sentence but that sentence had ruined many careers before his in the past.  It simply stated; ‘
There is a great deal of community unrest as a result of this incident
(see accompanying U.F. 49).’

A wave of anxiety crashed over Courtney’s body as he picked up the second unusual occurrence report.  It was considerably shorter than the first but much more volatile.  He read the entire report in less than five minutes.  It
detailed the events that unfolded after the deceased man was taken from the scene and the detective involved was removed to the hospital.  Rocks and bottles had been hurled at police officers from the buildings as well as numerous physical confrontations with the unruly crowd.  Seven police officers had been injured in the melee—the injuries ranged from lacerations and contusions to a fractured wrist and hand.  Thankfully, there were none more serious than that.  There had also been sixteen people arrested on a variety of charges from Disorderly Conduct, Inciting a Riot and Assault on a Police Officer.  A Borough wide mobilization had to be called to restore order.

Fuck me!  This is just what I need on top of the Blue Executioner.

Courtney could feel his chances at becoming the next Police Commissioner slipping away from him if he didn’t do something to regain control.  He finished his coffee as he examined the photos as well as the sketch prepared by the Crime Scene Unit.  A quick assessment led him to believe that the officer had acted appropriately but he couldn’t say that publically.  He had to see how things played out in the coming weeks and months.  The actions of one detective—right or wrong—could not get in the way of his career.

Setting the reports aside, he took off his glasses and set them down on top of his desk.  He rubbed his already reddened eyes.  The more he thought about things, the angrier he became.  It wasn’t fair, he decided, to have to deal with both a serial cop killer and now a potential racial powder keg in a community whose support he
’ll need if he is ever to become the Commissioner. 

Courtney got up to refill his coffee when there was a knock at his door.  “Enter.”

Inspector Finch walked through the door with the morning editions of all of the local newspapers folded under his arm.  Finch closed the door behind him.  He outstretched his hand offering the papers to Courtney.  “Here you are Chief.”

Courtney accepted the papers
and looked his long time assistant in the eyes.  “How bad is it John?”

“I haven’t read them yet Chief.  I brought them directly to you,” lied Finch.

“Very well then, pull up a chair and we’ll read them together.”

Finch complied, as Courtney once again donned his reading glasses.  He spread the papers across his desk and scanned them quickly.  The first paper, much to his relief, had the story of a fire in the Bronx killing th
ree people.  He was not so lucky with the next newspaper however.  There was a photo on the front cover, more than likely taken from someone’s cell phone on the scene.  It depicted police officers in riot gear at the South Jamaica Housing Development striking a man with their batons.  The caption below the photo explained that a small riot broke out on the scene where a police officer had killed an unarmed man during a confrontation.  The headlines of the paper;

BATTLEGROUND

Courtney opened the paper and read the article on the next page.  It was written by a reporter named Doris Williams.  The article detailed the official version of the events which led up to the death of Darrin Jackson and the subsequent civil unrest.  Courtney noted how the reporter was careful to point out that this version of events was based on a statement released by an NYPD spokesman.  She was also quick to point out the number of eyewitnesses with differing accounts of the incident.

Williams wrote of her interviews with three different men who were with Jackson just moments before his death.  Tyrone
Walker, who identified himself as a construction worker, gave the following account which was backed up by the other two men present, she reported.  They said that Mr. Jackson, who was only twenty-two years of age, had been hanging out with them for most of the afternoon.  They said at about six-thirty he was heading home for dinner when all of the sudden this man got out of a car and started to chase him.  They further said that the man did not display a badge and at no time identified himself as a police officer.  Williams quoted Mr. Walker as saying “The man had a gun on him too.  Anyone would’ve run if a dude with a gun is chasing you.”

The man’s account said that once the man caught up with Mr. Jackson, the man began to pistol whip him for no reason.  He had struck him about the head for close to a dozen times before pointing the gun directly at Jackson’s head.  Mr. Walker explained that Jackson was just able to push the gun to the side as the
cop fired.  The bullet missed Jackson by inches and instead hit the ground next to his head.  The cop then rolled Mr. Jackson onto his stomach and handcuffed him.  Once he was handcuffed, the cop continued to strike him over the head with his police radio.  Mr. Walker continued to explain that he and his friends were pleading with the officer to call an ambulance for their friend but instead the officer pointed his gun at them and said “Shut the fuck up or you’ll be next ni--er!”

Williams then added a couple of quotes from other witnesses, Mark Jenkins, who works as a security guard for J.F.K. airport.  “That cop was like crazy.  I watched as he murdered my friend.  I was helpless to stop him.  What could I possibly do…call the police?”

Lance Porter, who also works at the airport, added “after witnessing what he did, I’ll never be able to trust the police again.”

The reporter was clear to state that all three of these hard working men gave independent
, yet identical accounts of the incident, which is in sharp contrast to the official police version.  Doris Williams went on for a few paragraphs opining how appalling it is to hear a member of the police department in today’s day and age, using the most offensive word imaginable to describe a member of the community in which they serve.

When she was done editorializing, she returned to one final witness interview to drive home her point.  She wrote of her interview with
Sharlene Waters.  Mrs. Waters, a sixty-two year old grandmother, admittedly only witnessed part of the incident.  After hearing what she believed to be a gunshot, she looked out of the window of her second story apartment. She looked down onto the courtyard below where she saw the police officer strike the man in the head with a black object.  She thinks it may have been his gun but she wasn’t sure.  She also said that she remembered seeing the officer handcuff the man but she wasn’t sure if that was before or after the officer was beating the man.

Williams’ article
went on to identify the officer involved as Detective Thomas Galvin of the 113th Precinct Detective Squad.  Galvin had been a member of the department for over ten years and had never had any disciplinary proceedings against him although he had been the recipient of numerous civilian complaints, Williams reported.  None of those complaints had been substantiated by the police department.

Courtney didn’t want to read any more.  He pushed the newspapers aside in frustration.  “What horse shit this is!  What rocks do these people crawl out from under anytime something like this happens?”

He took out a pen and pad from his desk drawer and scribbled the names;

D
arrin Jackson

Tyrone Walker

Lance Porter

Mark Jenkins

Sharlene Waters

Courtney handed the list to Finch.  “Do me a favor John.  Have someone run these names through the system; have a
triple I
check done on them.  I want to know any and every collar they ever took.  See if they currently have any warrants or if they ever had warrants in the past.  I want to know everything about them…right down to their driving record.” 

“Right away Chief,” as he took the paper from Courtney’s hand and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

No sooner did Finch leave the office than did Courtney pick up the phone and dial the number for the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information’s office.  He summoned the Commanding Officer, Inspector Gerald Hartman, to his office in one hour.  While waiting for both Finch and Hartman, Courtney took the opportunity to refill his coffee.  He walked across his office to the coffee machine set on the desk in the corner.  He filled the cup, adding two sugars.  He took a sip; satisfied, he returned to his desk and once again browsed through the newspapers.

Finch and Hartman arrived at his office within minutes of each other.  He invited his men to take a seat
to discuss the matter at hand.  They each sat in the black leather chairs in front of his desk; Finch placing a manila on the edge of Courtney’s desk.  Courtney looked at Finch, hoping for good news.  “John, what did we find out about our witnesses?”

Finch reached for the folder as he began.  “We have no record of any kind on the elderly woman who was watching from the window.”

Courtney was disappointed but not surprised.  “The others?”

Finch raised his eyebrows and nodded his head approvingly.  He offered the manila envelope to Courtney which he accepted and began to peruse as Finch continued.  “The other four, including our decedent, have extensive arrest records.  All of them have narcotics related arrests, mostly sales and felony possession charges not far from where this incident took place.  One of them,
Mark Jenkins, also has an active case with Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.  He’s currently out on bail awaiting trial for transporting guns up from Virginia.”

Courtney listened—a slight smile coming across his lips.  “Good.  Anything else?”