The 7Th Precinct Vs. Jack Franqui in 2013, Jack Franqui Landed in a Jail Cell

THE LONG ISLAND NEWSPAPER

Sunday, December 20, 2015

A NEWSDAY AND NEWS 12 SPECIAL REPORT The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui In 2013, Jack Franqui landed in a jail cell. He left in a body bag.

BY GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS | [email protected] Newsday

n Jan. 23, 2013, one of Long Island’s coldest nights in years, Jack Fran- JETS BOOST PLAYOFFPUSH WITH WIN OVER COWBOYS SPORTS SPORTS FINAL newsday.com $3.99 | LI EDITION qui shivered in a Suffolk County Sunday Dec. 20, 2015 HI 43°LO35° O MOSTLY SUNNY Police Department holding cell wearing THE LONG ISLAND NEWSPAPER only his socks and underwear, his bruised ANEWSDAY AND NEWS12 SPECIAL REPORT body soaked in toilet water. He had been ranting for hours that the cops had unfairly targeted him and that he planned to THE 7TH PRECINCT leave his cell in a body bag. He fashioned a noose from a pair of bluejeans knotted to the bars of his cell. VS.JACKFRANQUI It was the third time in a matter of hours that Franqui — a 26-year-old man from Rocky Point booked on misdemeanor charges — had tied something to the bars. Officers on duty at the Seventh Precinct in Shirley had already confiscated a blan- Aftermultiple confrontations with officers, ket and Franqui’s T-shirt in separate inci- LI man hanged himself in apolicelockup. No one came to help him. dents. But officers ignored protocol and FIRST OF TWOPARTS STARTS ON A2-3 | VIDEOATNEWSDAY●COM COPYRIGHT 2015, NEWSDAY LLC, LONG ISLAND,VOL. 76,NO. 109 failed to put Franqui under closer supervision or transport him to a hospital. A medical examiner would later state Franqui’s body was cold to the touch that it takes roughly 10 minutes for some- by the time officers made it to the cell- body to suffer irreversible damage from block. Deciding there was no point in try- hanging the way Franqui did. During that ing to resuscitate him, officers left Fran- time, the only other prisoner in the cell- qui’s body hanging in his makeshift noose. block said he faced a surveillance camera, The homicide detectives who arrived made frantic gestures toward Franqui’s soon after began to piece together what cell and screamed for officers to come had gone wrong. The officers on duty kept save the dying man. records documenting prisoner checks When nobody came, he gave up. He that may not have actually occurred. The heard gasping, bones cracking and then officers failed to act not only after Fran- silence. qui had tied two items to the bars, but also An officer eventually noticed Fran- despite obvious signs of erratic behavior qui’s dangling body on a closed-circuit witnessed by the other prisoner includ- monitor. ing banging his head repeatedly against “What is this guy doing now?” the of- the wall, drenching himself in toilet water ficer, Joseph Simeone, remarked. and begging to be taken to the hospital.

1 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

Detectives found that an intercom sys- those dealing with “possible mental/ tem that pipes in sound from the cellblock emotional issues.” to where officers were stationed 70 feet “You’re dealing with good people, but away had been switched off. And officers they’re suffering from this illness,” said had turned up the volume on a TV they SCPD Sgt. Colleen Cooney, speaking in were watching loud enough to drown out general and not about Jack Franqui. “And the other prisoner’s screams for help. the officer has to realize that they may Suffolk County’s law enforcement of- not be behaving in their best way because ficials did not tell the public this story of they’re dealing with this illness, which failure and neglect. Instead, the depart- might make them dangerous to them- ment contradicted its own internal doc- selves or others.” uments in saying that Franqui was calm, Before Franqui’s clash with local law at ease and showed “no indication” that enforcement in December 2011, he led he was suicidal before he took officers by what was on the surface an unremarkable surprise and suddenly killed himself. life. After attending Rocky Point High, he Franqui’s family got the same story, lived in a rented 720-square-foot, cream- and for months, they had no choice but to colored duplex on Xylo Road, drove a assume it was the truth. Honda and owned a dog named Dog. Franqui’s friends said he liked to un- here’s an increasing burden on wind after work by playing Xbox while police officers to deal with men- smoking marijuana. He worked as a chef Ttal health issues requiring a law at the American Red Cross, where he enforcement response. Suffolk officers cooked meals for the elderly. After his transported 4,273 people, most of them in- death, some of the older women who voluntarily, to a psychiatric ward in 2014. worked with him there would take the The number has risen steadily every year time to write remembrances of the goofy, since 2008, when Suffolk officers trans- lanky young man who called them “Aun- ported 2,524 people for psychiatric care. tie” and was famous for his “egg in a boat SCPD cadets receive hours of train- breakfasts.” ing on how to handle encounters with An only child whose parents had di- the mentally ill, and the department’s vorced when he was a teenager, Fran- rules and procedures call for “compas- qui spent time on the nearby Long Is- sionate, safe and effective handling” of land Sound, kayaking or puttering on a

A2 TOPSTORIES TOPSTORIES A3 ANEWSDAY AND NEWS12 SPECIAL REPORT ( PART 1 ) SUICIDE IN ASUFFOLK POLICE LOCKUP The lonely death of AS RASKEV PA OHN /J

Jack Franqui AY SD

When aprisoner hanged himself,nobody came to help NEW

BY GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS ing therewas no point in try- turned up the volume on aTV Franqui. “And the officerhas young man whocalled them These arethe holding cells at [email protected] PART 2TOMORROW ingtoresuscitate him, officers theywerewatchingloud NEWSDAY.COM to realizethat theymay not be “Auntie” and wasfamous for the Suffolk CountyPolice leftFranqui’s bodyhanging in enough to drownout the other behaving in their best waybe- his “egg in aboatbreakfasts.” Department’s Seventh Precinct, On Jan. 23,2013, one of Long his makeshiftnoose. prisoner’s screams forhelp. cause they’redealing with this An onlychild whose par- whereFranqui hanged himself. Island’s coldest nights in cers ignored protocol and Thehomicide detectives Suffolk County’s lawen- illness, which might make ents haddivorced when he years, Jack Franqui shiveredin failed to putFranqui under whoarrivedsoon after began forcement officials did not tell NOWONLINE them dangerous to themselves wasateenager,Franqui spent aSuffolk CountyPoliceDe- closer supervision or trans- to piecetogether what had the public this story of failure News 12 videos or others.” time on the nearbyLong Is- hadjumped him. Butthe elder partment holding cell wearing port him to ahospital. gone wrong. Theofficerson and neglect. Instead, the de- at newsday.com Before Franqui’s clash with land Sound, kayaking or putter- Franqui always suspected the onlyhis socks and underwear, Amedical examiner would duty kept recordsdocument- partment contradicted its own locallaw enforcement in De- ing on a12-foot motorboat wound wasself-inflicted.

his bruised bodysoakedintoi- laterstatethatittakes roughly ing prisoner checks thatmay internal documents in saying cember 2011,heled what was owned by his father,Joaquin ne

m TIMELINE ws

co let water. He hadbeen ranting 10 minutesfor somebodyto not have actuallyoccurred. thatFranqui wascalm, at ease, on the surface an unremark- Franqui, wholikefivegenera-

y. Details on the suicide forhoursthatthe cops had un- sufferirreversible damage Theofficersfailed to act not and showed“no indication” able life. After attending tions of men dating back to ristyRepp,Franqui’s one- da da of Jack Franqui y. co

ws fairly targetedhim and thathe from hanging the wayFranqui onlyafter Franqui hadtied thathewas suicidal beforehe RockyPoint High, he livedin Spanish roots also goes by time girlfriend, said he

K m ne planned to leave his cell in a did. During that time,the only Y twoitems to the bars,but took officers by surprise and newsday.com arented 720-square-foot, Jack. haduntreatedmental prob- MIL

bodybag. other prisoner in the cellblock also despiteobvious signs of suddenlykilled himself. cream-colored duplexonXylo “Hewas my fishing buddy,” lems and hadthreatened sui- NEW 5 FA

01 He fashioned anoose from heardFranqui gasp forair and erratic behavior witnessed Franqui’s familygot the Road, droveaHonda and the elder Franqui, afacilities cide “atleast five or six” times SD ,2 apair of blue jeans knottedto then bones cracking. That pris- by the other prisoner includ- same story,and formonths, owned adog named Dog. manageratStony Brook Uni- when she attempted to break AY 20

the bars of his cell. It wasthe oner facedasurveillancecam- FRANQUI ing banging his headrepeat- theyhad no choice buttoas- Franqui’s friends said he versity,said of his son. “He up with him. ,S

thirdtime in amatterofhours era, made frantic gestures to- Jack Franqui is shown on edlyagainst the wall, drench- sume it wasthe truth. apsychiatric ward in 2014. rules and procedures call for liked to unwind afterworkby wasmyconstant companion. “Anybodywho’s taken UND

EMBER thatFranqui —a26-year-old ward Franqui’s cell and Christmas Day2012. ing himself in toilet water Thenumber has risen steadily “compassionate,safeand ef- playing Xboxwhile smoking We did everything together.” Psych101 would tell youthat EC man from RockyPoint booked screamed forofficerstocome andbegging to be taken to every year since2008, when fective handling” of those marijuana. He worked as a When he learned that Fran- he wasbipolar,” Repp said. AY ,D ,D on misdemeanor charges— save the dying man. on aclosed-circuit monitor. the hospital. here’s an increasing bur- Suffolk officers transported dealing with “possible men- chef at the American Red qui hadkilled himself in a Repp said she finallyde- EC AY

hadtied something to the When nobodycame,he “Whatisthis guydoing Detectivesfound that an in- Tden on policeofficersto 2,524people forpsychiatric tal/emotional issues.” Cross, wherehecooked meals precinct holding cell, he re- cided to call the authorities on EMBER UND bars.Officersondutyatthe gaveup. He heardgasping, now?”the officer, Joseph Sime- tercom system thatpipes in deal with mental health issues care. “You’redealing with good forthe elderly.After his death, called an incident from when the morning of Dec. 1, 2011. ,S Seventh Precinct in Shirley bones cracking and then one,remarked. sound from the cellblock to requiring alaw enforcement SCPD cadets receivehours people, butthey’resuffering some of the older women who hisson was17. One dayhis son Shewas with Franqui at his 20 AY ,2 SD hadalready confiscatedablan- silence. Franqui’s bodywas cold to whereofficerswerestationed response. Suffolk officers of training on howtohandle from this illness,”said SCPD worked with him therewould came home with apuncture home as he threatened suicide

ketand Franqui’s T- shirt in An officereventuallyno- the touch by the time officers 70 feet away hadbeen transported 4,273 people, encounterswith the mentally Sgt. Colleen Cooney, speaking take the time to write remem- wound to his stomach and 01 5 NEW separate incidents. Butoffi- ticed Franqui’s dangling body made it to the cellblock. Decid- switched off. And officers had most of them involuntarily, to ill, and the department’s in general and not aboutJack brances of the goofy, lanky told his father thatsome guys See SUICIDE on A18

2 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

12-foot motorboat owned by his father, to show up like he had just robbed the Joaquin Franqui, who like five genera- bank,” Repp said. tions of men dating back to Spanish Officers flooded a narrow Rocky Point roots also goes by Jack. road before noon on a Thursday, making “He was my fishing buddy,” the el- for a chaotic scene and perhaps explain- der Franqui, a facilities manager at Stony ing why officers later filed statements Brook University, said of his son. “He was that were inconsistent on two key claims: my constant companion. We did every- whether Franqui stepped outside his thing together.” house with a gun, and whether he fired it When he learned that Franqui had at an officer. killed himself in a precinct holding cell, In charging documents, two officers he recalled an incident from when his son at the scene attested that Franqui was was 17. One day his son came home with a outside his house brandishing a loaded puncture wound to his stomach and told .38 Special. However, a third officer al- his father that some guys had jumped him. leged only that she witnessed Franqui an- But the elder Franqui always suspected nounce that “he had a gun in his pocket” the wound was self-inflicted. when he exited his house. Repp said she watched the incident risty Repp, Franqui’s onetime girl- unfold from a nearby driveway, roughly friend, said he had untreated men- 200 feet away. She denied that Franqui K tal problems and had threatened brought a gun outside, although that was suicide “at least five or six” times when ultimately the charge for which he would she attempted to break up with him. be convicted. She said Franqui stood in “Anybody who’s taken Psych 101 the middle of the street, unarmed and would tell you that he was bipolar,” wearing only his boxer shorts, yelling at Repp said. the officers. Repp said she finally decided to call Franqui then ran inside, and Repp said the authorities on the morning of Dec. 1, she watched through the ajar front door 2011. She was with Franqui at his home as Franqui grabbed a gun. Officers re- as he threatened suicide while “loading a ported that as Franqui was “kicking and shotgun and putting it into his mouth.” wrestling” with police Officer Douglas Repp said she expected an ambu- Libonati, he fractured the officer’s hand. lance. “I didn’t expect the police force Franqui was finally subdued, but not be-

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SUICIDE from A3A2 clude in her statement that yearsofprobation, which in- policehad used electrical cluded psychiatric and psycho- while “loading ashotgunand tape to hogtie Franqui. logical conditions. Because putting it intohis mouth.” Each time,“theyeither told Franqui hadalready spent a Repp said she expected an me Iwas fabricating it, my year at the Suffolk Countyjail, ambulance. “I didn’t expect wordswerewrong, or they he wasordered released. A the policeforce to showup just changedmywords for judgewarned him thathe

likehehad just robbed the GRANDINETTE me,” Repp said. faced7yearsinanupstate bank,” Repp said. AnthonyGrandinette,anat- prison if he violatedproba- Officers flooded anarrow torneyrepresenting Franqui’s tion.

RockyPoint road before ANTHONY familyinacivil rights lawsuit Franqui left jail certain that

noon on aThursday, making OF filed in federal court against police would come up with a

forachaotic scene and per- IRM Suffolk Countyand its police “brilliantplan” to set him up haps explaining whyofficers department, said Franqui because he hadfiled the legal WF

laterfiled statements that LA spent three weeks in the hospi- claim and accused them of bru- were inconsistent on twokey Franqui shows his injuries after aDecember 2011 arrestinwhich talafter his arrest due to in- tality, according to his friend claims: whether Franqui he wasaccused of shooting at apoliceofficer. juries inflicted by police. An Kyle Fox, of RockyPoint. “He stepped outside his house arrest warrant shows thatoffi- came outmorelooking over with agun, and whether he cers took Franqui intocustody his shouldersbecause he was fireditatanofficer. at John T. Mather Memorial afraid the cops were going to In charging documents, two Hospital in Port Jefferson on gethim,” Foxsaid. officers at the scene attested Dec. 22,2011,three weeks that Franqui wasoutside his afterhis arrest. In applying for house brandishing aloaded the warrant, adetective stated uffolk policeand aproba- .38Special. However, athird thatFranqui wasatthe hospi- Stion officerraided Fran- officeralleged onlythatshe talfor a“psychological qui’sdad’shouse on Jan. 9, witnessed Franqui announce evaluation.” 2013,lessthan twomonths that“he hadaguninhis pock- Franqui spent roughlya afterFranqui hadbeen re- FERRARA

et” when he exited his house. A. year afterhis arrest at the Suf- leased from jail. Franqui was Repp said she watched the folk CountyJail in Riverhead living in his father’s garage be-

incident unfold from anearby HOMAS because he wasunable to post cause he hadlost his job,his

driveway, roughly200 feet /T a$40,000 bond. He mailed to car and his home during his

away.She denied thatFranqui AY Repp from jail morethan a stint in jail. brought agun outside,al- SD dozenhandwrittenletters, Franqui’s father,Joaquin,

though thatwas ultimatelythe NEW which provide amanic por- said he waspresent when the charge forwhich he would be Thehouse in Shoreham whereFranqui wasarrestedonJan. 23, trait of his psyche while raid occurred and that officers convicted. She said Franqui 2013, while visiting afriend, Simon Earl, to showoff his car. locked up. “stormed in the house yelling, stood in the middle of the “Maybe finallyhaving you with guns out.” Though Fran- street, unarmed and wearing attempted murder of apolice in my lifedid makemecrazy qui’s sentencesubjected him only his boxershorts, yelling VIDEOS officer. butthen Ishould be in a[psy- to random visits and searches at the officers. Ye twithin the Seventh ch] ward not in jail,” Franqui by policeand probation offi- Franqui then raninside, Watchinterviews Precinct, Franqui would be re- wroteinone letterspotted cers,available policedocu- related to the case. and Repp said she watched membered as the guywho with blood, which he said ments do not explain the show GOOGLE through the ajar front door newsday.com tried to shoot acop. came from cutting his hand in of forcethatJoaquin Franqui AGoogle Images photoshows aCadillac, owned by Jack Franqui, parked in front of his father’s home on Magnolia DriveinRockyPoint in January 2013. as Franqui grabbed agun. Of- afight. He said while in jail he said occurred. ficers reported thatasFran- hadbeen forced to join agang, Asearch of Franqui’s de boy. Dionisio said the Earl. name,characterizing him as Moshier.“It wasavolatile situ- then-commander of the Suf- qui was“kicking and gating Franqui’s 2013 suicide. ranqui filed anoticeof “as much as Ihatethem.” factobedroom resulted in two weapons charge is evidence Afellowresident of Earl’s the person whohad dis- ation butboth Simon and the folk homicide squad, told wrestling” with policeOffi- They arenot identified by Fclaim against the Seventh And he repeatedlyaccused morecriminal charges. One, that Franqui’s paranoia was upscale neighborhood would chargedafirearm at other Sev- person in the car remained Newsdaywhen recounting cerDouglas Libonati, he frac- name,but their testimonyas Precinct in February 2012, al- the policeofbeating him up forunlawful possession of justified and thatofficersset latertell the special grand jury enth Precinct policeofficers. calm and obeyedthe female of- Franqui’s arrest foranarticle tured the officer’s hand. Fran- to what happened thatday,as leging that he wasphysically and lying aboutit. marijuana, wasfor twoclear outtoharassher nephewas thathehad afeeling “someth- She pulled her gunand or- ficer’s orders.” published the next day. “She’s qui wasfinallysubdued, but summarized by agrand jury re- beatenduring the arrest at his “I knowyou were just plastic bags of the drug. payback forthe 2011 shooting. ing wasnot right” as he dered Franqui outofthe Cadil- Policereports, however, do so alert, she slams the door not beforehe“shot aloaded port, does not contradict home. He sought $7.2 million scared and Idon’t blame you Though an arrest report does “Itwould be different if this watched the driverofthe old lac, she told the special grand not describe Franqui as com- back closed.” firearm” at OfficerKevin Cor- Repp’s version of events. forpersonal injuries. butthe people youcalled are not statethe amount of mari- wasahardened criminal that Cadillac move slowlythrough jury,“forfear thatFranqui pliant. Grenia laterclaimed in Dogisneither aDoberman rigan, according to com- Thereport does not de- Repp said thatInternal Af- even more[expletive]upthan juana, the charge is typically would cause them to raid him the neighborhood. Seeing a mayhavehad another an arrest report that, with her nor apinscher.He’s aMan- plaints filed by twoofficers. scribe Franqui having agun fairsBureau officers investigat- Iam,” Franqui wroteofthe po- punishable by afine not ex- likethat,” Dionisio said. young man wearing ahoodie weapon.” guntrained on him, Franqui chester terrier,small enough Repp disputedthat, saying outside of the house,orfiring ing the excessiveforce allega- lice. “Theyhad just been wait- ceeding $100.Franqui —who “Whatdid theyfind? Asling- getintothe vehicle,the resi- DarrylMoore, acontractor opened his door and told Dog: to stand on the bowofFran- that afterFranqui raninside on an officer. It onlystates tions visited her while Franqui ingfor the chancetobeatme hadacartoon of apot leaf tat- shot,fromwhen he was10to dent said he feared potential remodeling the Earlfamily’s “Go gether.” qui’s kayakashepaddled his house,heput arevolverto thatthe officers “wereableto wasinjail. up and putmebehind bars tooed on his back —told offi- 12 yearsold.” burglaries. He called aretired home,recalled during alegal Grenia, referring to Fran- around Long Island Sound.

his ownfaceasthe officers sur- getFranqui outofthe house, Shesaid she told them that and that’s whytheyare lying cers that he smoked marijuana policeofficer wholived deposition thatGrenia yelled, qui’s dog as a“pinscher,” ne m ws

co rounded him. “Theykicked butheattempted to go back during thearrest, officers shot so much.” “because it helpsmewith my nearby, and theycalled 911 to “Don’t F’in move”asshe wrotethat the animal’s release y. the door in and the gunshot intothe house. Policeofficers Franqui with aTaser multiple Franqui wrotethatthe offi- anxiety.” our days aftergetting out report asuspicious vehicle in pointed her gunatFranqui. was“onlyprevented” when yGrenia’s count, 15 to 20 da da y. co

ws offbehind him and went in gavechase and Franqui dis- times, “hogtied” him with cers hadtrumped up the Themoreserious charge of jail, Franqui again found theneighborhood. Grenia was“dropping F she “slammed the vehicle officers streamed to Cord-

F B m ne the ceiling,” Repp said. chargedahandgun intothe black electrical tape and chargesagainst him by falsely against Franqui wasfor himself staring at the barrel of Earl, in ahooded sweat- bombs, four-letterwords,” door shutbeforethe animal wood Path to assist her arrest

Corrigan himself filed are- ceiling during the ensuing dragged him down the front accusing him of exiting his third-degreefelonycriminal aserviceweapon brandished shirt, waschecking outhis Mooresaid. could exit.” of Franqui, including an NEW 5

01 port reinforcing the narrative struggle with police.” stepsofhis house,“allowing house with agun. Theofficer possession of aweapon. As de- by an officerofthe SCPD’s friend’s newride as contrac- Asked if he hadeverwit- In his affidavit, carpenter off-duty officerwho lived SD ,2 thatFranqui hadtaken ashot Franqui waschargedwith his chin to hit every step.” withthe fractured hand, Fran- scribed in apolicereport, the Seventh Precinct. tors worked on his parents’ nessed such ascene,Moorere- Moshier statedofthe claim nearby. At least twoofthe offi- AY 20 at him. In acriminal com- severalfelonies, including Repp said officers kicked Fran- qui wrote, injured himself by confiscatedweapon wasa On Jan. 23,2013, aWednes- home. From her patrol car, sponded, “Just on TV.” (Ac- thatFranqui hadordered his cers hadalso been on the ,S

plaint, Corrigan statedthat menacing apoliceofficer,reck- qui in the headand stomach punching Franqui uncon- “wrist-bracetype slingshot.” daymorning in the midst of a Suffolk OfficerKaren Grenia cording to court records, dog to attack the officer, “I scene during Franqui’s 2011 al- UND

EMBER Franqui “fired afunctioning lessendangerment, second-de- and “took turns beating the scious. “I wasn’t trying to hurt “I actuallydidn’t even know brutalcold snap in which the ranthe license platenumber Grenia has been the subject of neverobserved thateverhap- tercation. EC handgun in close proximity gree assault and criminal pos- crap outofhim.” thecops just myself,” Franqui it wasthere,”Franqui would temperaturedipped to 10 de- on thegold Cadillac parked “atleast 10”civilian com- pen.” However, Grenia would Earl, a27-year-old geology AY ,D ,D and in the direction of your de- session of aweapon in the sec- According to Repp,who wrote. tell the judgeofthe slingshot. grees, Franqui drovewith Dog in front of Earl’s home on plaints, most for“unprofessi- be lauded by department student with no criminal EC AY

ponent [Corrigan] and strik- ond degree. An officeralso has no known criminal con- Franqui would pleadguilty He spent nine moredaysin to Shoreham in arusted 1972 Cordwood Path. Adispatcher onal language.”) brass forher quick instincts in record,said he wasjust look- EMBER UND ing the ceiling.” claimed in amisdemeanor victions, the IA investigators on Dec. 5, 2012, to second-de- Suffolk County’s Riverhead Cadillac Eldorado.Hehad re- responded thatthe car be- Grenia was“yelling ex- thwarting the potential dog ing at the engine of Franqui’s ,S Twoofthe officers who charging document thatFran- rewroteher statement “in gree felonyattempted crimi- jail. centlyacquired the car,his fa- longed to Franqui. tremelyloud and giving incon- attack. Cadillac when Grenia unhol- 20 AY ,2 SD were at the scene of that2011 qui possessed a.22 Derringer theway theywanted it to nal possession of aweapon, re- Franqui’s aunt, Michelle ther said, for$200and acruci- Grenia would latertestify sistent orders,” according to a “Hehas aDoberman in the stered hergun and pointed it

arrest would be called to tes- inside hishouse. sound.” She said, forexam- sulting in asentenceof6 Dionisio,said her nephewgot fixnecklace, and he wanted to beforethe special grand jury sworn statement from carand he said ‘get her,’ ”Det. 01 5 NEW tify beforegrand jurorsinvesti- He wasnever chargedwith ple, that theyrefused to in- months’ imprisonment and 5 the slingshot when he wasa showitoff to his friend Simon that she recognized Franqui’s Moore’s carpenter,Jay Lt.John “Jack” Fitzpatrick, See SUICIDE on A20

3 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

fore he “shot a loaded firearm” at Officer Franqui was charged with several fel- Kevin Corrigan, according to complaints onies, including menacing a police offi- filed by two officers. cer, reckless endangerment, second-de- Repp disputed that, saying that after gree assault and criminal possession of a Franqui ran inside his house, he put a re- weapon in the second degree. An officer volver to his own face as the officers sur- also claimed in a misdemeanor charging rounded him. “They kicked the door in document that Franqui possessed a .22 and the gun shot off behind him and went Derringer inside his house. in the ceiling,” Repp said. He was never charged with attempted Corrigan himself filed a report rein- murder of a police officer. forcing the narrative that Franqui had tak- Yet within the Seventh Precinct, Fran- en a shot at him. In a criminal complaint, qui would be remembered as the guy who Corrigan stated that Franqui “fired a func- tried to shoot a cop. tioning handgun in close proximity and in the direction of your deponent and strik- ranqui filed a notice of claim against ing the ceiling.” the Seventh Precinct in February Two of the officers who were at the F2012, alleging that he was physically scene of that 2011 arrest would be called beaten during the arrest at his home. He to testify before grand jurors investigating sought $7.2 million for personal injuries. Franqui’s 2013 suicide. They are not iden- Repp said that Internal Affairs Bu- tified by name, but their testimony as to reau officers investigating the excessive what happened that day, as summarized force allegations visited her while Fran- by a grand jury report, does not contra- qui was in jail. dict Repp’s version of events. She said she told them that during The report does not describe Franqui the arrest, officers shot Franqui with having a gun outside of the house, or fir- a Taser multiple times, “hogtied” him ing on an officer. It only states that the of- with black electrical tape and dragged ficers “were able to get Franqui out of the him down the front steps of his house, house, but he attempted to go back into “allowing his chin to hit every step.” the house. Police officers gave chase and Repp said officers kicked Franqui in the Franqui discharged a handgun into the head and stomach and “took turns beat- ceiling during the ensuing struggle with ing the crap out of him.” police.” According to Repp, who has no known

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SUICIDE from A19A18 at him. Moshier and Moore corroboratedthataccount, and Grenia did not denythe allegation during acourt appearance. Moshier said he watched as Earl washandcuffedand putinthe backseatofapo- lice car,although he would not be chargedwith any crime. According to Grenia’s deposition, PoliceOfficers Nicholas Robbins and Janine Lesiewicz—one of the officers at the 2011 incident — then entered Earl’s home. Thehouse is owned by Earl’s parents, whowerenot there. Theofficerswalked throughoutthe house,riffling through ashtrays, mail and cabinets, the contractor, Moore, later said in sworn testimony. Mooresaid he asked one of the officers whether

theyhad permission to enter Y the house,and the officerre- MIL sponded: “What, areyou hid- FA ing something?”

Grenia, during her ownde- FRANQUI position, said Earlinvited an Franqui’s Manchesterterrier,named Dog, would stand on the bowofFranqui’s kayakashepaddled around Long Island Sound. officerintothe house while he searched foridentifica- there’s going to be aproblem, ministration and, afteral- beingtreated foranti-anxiety tion, which the officers we have another set of eyes,” legedlyadmitting to Grenia butdoesn’t need medication needed as proofthat he lived she explained. thathehad smoked mari- at this time.” there. “Wedid not know, in Earlinformed her thathe juana 30 minutesearlier,for Franqui entered aholding fact, theydid not just burglar- would be recording video of driving while under the influ- cell at 2:25p.m. In conversa- izethat house,” Grenia said. the trafficstopwith his enceofdrugs. tions with aprisoner locked In ajoint lawsuit filed with phone,and Grenia took the Grenia also chargedFran- up twocells away,Franqui ex- Franqui’s estate,Earl’s family phone,turned it offand putit qui with resisting arrest be- hibited wild mood swings, at claims officers neverhad per- on topofEarl’s car.Grenia ex- cause she alleged thathe times speaking calmlyand mission to enter their home plained in court that“cell- “flailed his arms and legsand then breaking intoangry, and illegallysearched it with- phones have been used as refused to puthis hands be- paranoid rants or uncon- outawarrant. Thesuit al- Ta sersordifferent weapons.” hind his back until he was trolled sobs of anguish. He in- legesthatEarlwas wrong- Officers instructed Earlto eventuallysubdued.” sisted thatpolice had fullyhandcuffed, searched exit his vehicle,and he was Franqui sufferedseveral in- “roughed him up and thathe and detained despitenoevi- patted down. Earlclaimed juries during the arrest, ac- shouldn’t have been ar- dencethathehad done any- thatdespiteexplicitlydeny- cording to policerecords and rested.” thing illegal. Thesuit also Officer Karen Grenia of the ing the officers permission to special grand jury testimony. Aboutthree hoursafter he claims Grenia continued to Suffolk CountyPoliceDept. search his car,“theysearched He hadalarge scrape across waslocked up,Franqui’s harass Earlbecause he was“a my vehicle down to the floor his leftcheek, which would mother called the Seventh witnesstothe initial police man Drive in Shoreham. Ac- mats.” still be visible at his open-cas- Precinct and spoketothe su- misconduct against himself” cording to her court testi- Grenia acknowledged en- ketfuneral. Amedical exam- pervisor,Sgt. Kevin O’Reilly. and Franqui. Court records mony, she hadpassed the car tering the back of Earl’s vehi- iner’s report described blunt “Myson is being harassed showthatinApril 2014,Suf- and then watched in her cle,but onlytohelp find his impact injuries to his body, in- and I’m reallyatthe end of folk Countyattempted to set- rearviewmirror as Earlmade insurancecard. cluding his torsoand upper my rope,” Phyllis Dailytold m

co tle the lawsuit with the Earl aright turn withoutsignal- Grenia ticketed Earlfor and lowerextremities. The O’Reillyinthe recorded y. familyfor ajudgment of ing. not producing an insurance medical examiner’s office phone call. She asked to da

ws $5,001.The familydid not Grenia testified thatshe cardand forfailing to signal found thatFranqui’s injuries, speak to her son and the

ne accept. did not recognizethe vehicle beforeturning. He pleaded including the cheek wound precinct commander. Grenia said in court testi- as Earl’s and onlykept her not guiltyinaSeptember and “injuries on the front of O’Reillydenied both re- 5

01 monythatafter Franqui’s ar- eyeonthe car because there 2014 trafficcourt appearance, his body,”wereconsistent quests. “Ma’am, I’m going to

,2 rest, she droveintothe Earls’ is alot of “drug traffic” on whereajudgedismissed the with “having occurred during hang the phone up right now 20 drivewayand recorded the li- the “backcountry winding violation and ruled thatthe [the] time he wasplaced on you,” he said. “If youwant cense platenumber of Simon roads.” government had“not proved under arrest by police.” to see your son, youcan go to

EMBER Earl’s gold 2000 Volvo. She “I don’t knowifsome- theircase.” Franqui wasbooked at the firstdistrict court tomorrow EC gave no reason forthatin body’s doing drugs or traffick- Seventh Precinct at 12:28 p.m. morning.” ,D court. ing drugsuntil Ipull them Themorning shiftsupervisor Jack Franqui wasdead AY On April 9, 2013 —less over,” she said. ranqui wasplaced under noted the scrape on Franqui’s within the hour. UND than three months afterar- Upon recognizing Earl, arrest at Earl’s house for cheek and wroteinapris-

,S F resting Franqui —Grenia Grenia said, she called for allegedlyordering Dog to at- oner log thathe“appearsin- AY

SD stopped Earl’s Volvo abouta backup to prevent him from tack Grenia, forwhich he toxicated unsteady slurred half-mile from his house,at making false allegations would be chargedwith ob- speech.” Thesupervisor also PART 2TOMORROW NEW North Country Road and Nor- against her.“If we think struction of governmental ad- wrotethatFranqui said “he’s

4 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

criminal convictions, the IA investigators criminal possession of a weapon, result- rewrote her statement “in the way they ing in a sentence of 6 months’ impris- wanted it to sound.” She said, for exam- onment and 5 years of probation, which ple, that they refused to include in her included psychiatric and psychological statement that police had used electrical conditions. Because Franqui had already tape to hogtie Franqui. spent a year at the Suffolk County jail, he Each time, “they either told me I was was ordered released. A judge warned fabricating it, my words were wrong, him that he faced 7 years in an upstate or they just changed my words for me,” prison if he violated probation. Repp said. Franqui left jail certain that police Anthony Grandinette, an attorney would come up with a “brilliant plan” to representing Franqui’s family in a civil set him up because he had filed the legal rights lawsuit filed in federal court against claim and accused them of brutality, ac- Suffolk County and its police department, cording to his friend Kyle Fox, of Rocky said Franqui spent three weeks in the hos- Point. “He came out more looking over pital after his arrest due to injuries inflict- his shoulders because he was afraid the ed by police. An arrest warrant shows that cops were going to get him,” Fox said. officers took Franqui into custody at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jef- uffolk police and a probation officer ferson on Dec. 22, 2011, three weeks after raided Franqui’s dad’s house on Jan. his arrest. In applying for the warrant, a S9, 2013, less than two months after detective stated that Franqui was at the Franqui had been released from jail. Fran- hospital for a “psychological evaluation.” qui was living in his father’s garage be- Franqui spent roughly a year after his cause he had lost his job, his car and his arrest at the Suffolk County Jail in Riv- home during his stint in jail. erhead because he was unable to post a Franqui’s father, Joaquin, said he was $40,000 bond. He mailed to Repp from present when the raid occurred and that jail more than a dozen handwritten let- officers “stormed in the house yelling, ters, which provide a manic portrait of his with guns out.” Though Franqui’s sen- psyche while locked up. tence subjected him to random visits and “Maybe finally having you in my life searches by police and probation officers, did make me crazy but then I should be available police documents do not ex- in a ward not in jail,” Franqui wrote in one plain the show of force that Joaquin Fran- letter spotted with blood, which he said qui said occurred. came from cutting his hand in a fight. He A search of Franqui’s de facto bed- said while in jail he had been forced to room resulted in two more criminal join a gang, “as much as I hate them.” charges. One, for unlawful possession of And he repeatedly accused the police marijuana, was for two clear plastic bags of beating him up and lying about it. of the drug. Though an arrest report does “I know you were just scared and I not state the amount of marijuana, the don’t blame you but the people you called charge is typically punishable by a fine are even more up than I am,” Franqui not exceeding $100. Franqui — who had a wrote of the police. “They had just been cartoon of a pot leaf tattooed on his back waiting for the chance to beat me up and — told officers that he smoked marijuana put me behind bars and that’s why they “because it helps me with my anxiety.” are lying so much.” The more serious charge against Fran- Franqui wrote that the officers had qui was for third-degree felony criminal trumped up the charges against him by possession of a weapon. As described in falsely accusing him of exiting his house a police report, the confiscated weapon with a gun. The officer with the fractured was a “wrist-brace type slingshot.” hand, Franqui wrote, injured himself by “I actually didn’t even know it was punching Franqui unconscious. “I wasn’t there,” Franqui would tell the judge of the trying to hurt the cops just myself,” Fran- slingshot. He spent nine more days in Suf- qui wrote. folk County’s Riverhead jail. Franqui would plead guilty on Dec. 5, Franqui’s aunt, Michelle Dionisio, 2012, to second-degree felony attempted said her nephew got the slingshot when

5 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

he was a boy. Dionisio said the weapons ing a legal deposition that Grenia yelled, charge is evidence that Franqui’s para- “Don’t F’in move” as she pointed her noia was justified and that officers set out gun at Franqui. Grenia was “dropping F to harass her nephew as payback for the bombs, four-letter words,” Moore said. 2011 shooting. Asked if he had ever witnessed such “It would be different if this was a a scene, Moore responded, “Just on TV.” hardened criminal that would cause them (According to court records, Grenia has to raid him like that,” Dionisio said. “What been the subject of “at least 10” civilian did they find? A slingshot, from when he complaints, most for “unprofessional lan- was 10 to 12 years old.” guage.”) Grenia was “yelling extremely loud our days after getting out of jail, and giving inconsistent orders,” accord- Franqui again found himself staring to a sworn statement from Moore’s F ing at the barrel of a service weap- carpenter, Jay Moshier. “It was a volatile on brandished by an officer of the SCPD’s situation but both Simon and the person Seventh Precinct. in the car remained calm and obeyed the On Jan. 23, 2013, a Wednesday morn- female officer’s orders.” ing in the midst of a brutal cold snap in Police reports, however, do not de- which the temperature dipped to 10 describe Franqui as compliant. Grenia later grees, Franqui drove with Dog to Shore- claimed in an arrest report that, with her ham in a rusted 1972 Cadillac Eldorado. gun trained on him, Franqui opened his He had recently acquired the car, his fa- door and told Dog: “Go get her.” ther said, for $200 and a crucifix necklace, Grenia, referring to Franqui’s dog as and he wanted to show it off to his friend, a “pinscher,” wrote that the animal’s re- Simon Earl. lease was “only prevented” when she A fellow resident of Earl’s upscale “slammed the vehicle door shut before neighborhood would later tell the special the animal could exit.” grand jury that he had a feeling “some- In his affidavit, carpenter Moshier thing was not right” as he watched the stated of the claim that Franqui had or- driver of the old Cadillac move slow- dered his dog to attack the officer, “I nev- ly through the neighborhood. Seeing a er observed that ever happen.” However, young man wearing a hoodie get into the Grenia would be lauded by department vehicle, the resident said he feared poten- brass for her quick instincts in thwarting tial burglaries. He called a retired police the potential dog attack. officer who lived nearby, and they called “He has a Doberman in the car and he 911 to report a suspicious vehicle in the said ‘get her,’ ” Det. Lt. John “Jack” Fitz- neighborhood. patrick, then-commander of the Suffolk Earl, in a hooded sweatshirt, was homicide squad, told Newsday when re- checking out his friend’s new ride as con- counting Franqui’s arrest for an article tractors worked on his parents’ home. published the next day. “She’s so alert, she From her patrol car, Suffolk Officer Kar- slams the door back closed.” en Grenia ran the license plate number on Dog is neither a Doberman nor a pin- the gold Cadillac parked in front of Earl’s scher. He’s a Manchester terrier, small home on Cordwood Path. A dispatcher re- enough to stand on the bow of Franqui’s sponded that the car belonged to Franqui. kayak as he paddled around Long Island Grenia would later testify before the Sound. special grand jury that she recognized Franqui’s name, characterizing him as the y Grenia’s count, 15 to 20 officers person who had discharged a firearm at streamed to Cordwood Path to as- other Seventh Precinct police officers. B sist her arrest of Franqui, includ- She pulled her gun and ordered Fran- ing an off-duty officer who lived nearby. qui out of the Cadillac, she told the spe- At least two of the officers had also been cial grand jury, “for fear that Franqui may on the scene during Franqui’s 2011 alter- have had another weapon.” cation. Darryl Moore, a contractor remodel- Earl, a 27-year-old geology student ing the Earl family’s home, recalled dur- with no criminal record, said he was just

6 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

looking at the engine of Franqui’s Cadil- ing to her court testimony, she had passed lac when Grenia unholstered her gun and the car and then watched in her rearview pointed it at him. Moshier and Moore cor- mirror as Earl made a right turn without roborated that account, and Grenia did signaling. not deny the allegation during a court ap- Grenia testified that she did not rec- pearance. ognize the vehicle as Earl’s and only kept Moshier said he watched as Earl was her eye on the car because there is a lot of handcuffed and put in the backseat of “drug traffic” on the “backcountry wind- a police car, although he would not be ing roads.” charged with any crime. “I don’t know if somebody’s doing According to Grenia’s deposition, po- drugs or trafficking drugs until I pull them lice Officers Nicholas Robbins and Janine over,” she said. Lesiewicz — one of the officers at the 2011 Upon recognizing Earl, Grenia said, incident — then entered Earl’s home. The she called for backup to prevent him house is owned by Earl’s parents, who from making false allegations against were not there. her. “If we think there’s going to be a The officers walked throughout the problem, we have another set of eyes,” house, riffling through ashtrays, mail and she explained. cabinets, the contractor, Moore, later Earl informed her that he would be said in sworn testimony. Moore said he recording video of the traffic stop with asked one of the officers whether they his phone, and Grenia took the phone, had permission to enter the house, and turned it off and put it on top of Earl’s the officer responded: “What, are you car. Grenia explained in court that “cell hiding something?” phones have been used as Tasers or dif- Grenia, during her own deposition, ferent weapons.” said Earl invited an officer into the house Officers instructed Earl to exit his while he searched for identification, vehicle, and he was patted down. Earl which the officers needed as proof that claimed that despite explicitly denying he lived there. “We did not know, in fact, the officers permission to search his car, they did not just burglarize that house,” “they searched my vehicle down to the Grenia said. floor mats.” In a joint lawsuit filed with Franqui’s Grenia acknowledged entering the estate, Earl’s family claims officers never back of Earl’s vehicle, but only to help find had permission to enter their home and his insurance card. illegally searched it without a warrant. Grenia ticketed Earl for not producing The suit alleges that Earl was wrongful- an insurance card and for failing to signal ly handcuffed, searched and detained de- before turning. He pleaded not guilty in a spite no evidence that he had done any- September 2014 traffic court appearance, thing illegal. The suit also claims Grenia where a judge dismissed the violation continued to harass Earl because he was and ruled that the government had “not “a witness to the initial police miscon- proved their case.” duct against himself” and Franqui. Court records show that in April 2014, Suffolk ranqui was placed under arrest at County attempted to settle the lawsuit Earl’s house for allegedly ordering with the Earl family for a judgment of F Dog to attack Grenia, for which $5,001. The family did not accept. he would be charged with obstruction Grenia said in court testimony that of governmental administration and, af- after Franqui’s arrest, she drove into the ter allegedly admitting to Grenia that he Earls’ driveway and recorded the license had smoked marijuana 30 minutes earli- plate number of Simon Earl’s gold 2000 er, for driving while under the influence Volvo. She gave no reason for that in court. of drugs. On April 9, 2013 — less than three Grenia also charged Franqui with re- months after arresting Franqui — Gren- sisting arrest because she alleged that he ia stopped Earl’s Volvo about a half-mile “flailed his arms and legs and refused to from his house, at North Country Road put his hands behind his back until he was and Norman Drive in Shoreham. Accord- eventually subdued.”

7 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

Franqui suffered several injuries dur- Franqui entered a holding cell at 2:25 ing the arrest, according to police records p.m. In conversations with a prisoner and special grand jury testimony. He had locked up two cells away, Franqui exhibited a large scrape across his left cheek, which wild mood swings, at times speaking calm- would still be visible at his open-casket ly and then breaking into angry, paranoid funeral. A medical examiner’s report de- rants or uncontrolled sobs of anguish. He scribed blunt impact injuries to his body, insisted that police had “roughed him up including his torso and upper and lower and that he shouldn’t have been arrested.” extremities. The medical examiner’s of- About three hours after he was locked fice found that Franqui’s injuries, includ- up, Franqui’s mother called the Seventh ing the cheek wound and “injuries on the Precinct and spoke to the supervisor, Sgt. front of his body,” were consistent with Kevin O’Reilly. “having occurred during time he was “My son is being harassed and I’m re- placed under arrest by police.” ally at the end of my rope,” Phyllis Daily Franqui was booked at the Seventh told O’Reilly in the recorded phone call. Precinct at 12:28 p.m. The morning shift She asked to speak to her son and the pre- supervisor noted the scrape on Franqui’s cinct commander. cheek and wrote in a prisoner log that he O’Reilly denied both requests. “appears intoxicated unsteady slurred “Ma’am, I’m going to hang the phone up speech.” The supervisor also wrote that right now on you,” he said. “If you want Franqui said “he’s being treated for anti- to see your son, you can go to first district anxiety but doesn’t need medication at court tomorrow morning.” this time.” Jack Franqui was dead within the hour.

8 | Newsday THE LONG ISLAND NEWSPAPER

Monday, December 21, 2015

A NEWSDAY AND NEWS 12 SPECIAL REPORT The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui Cops misled dad about troubled son’s jail-cell suicide

BY GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS | [email protected] Newsday

SEARCHABLE ohn Burke entered Male Cell #3 at DATABASE AT A2-3 INSIDE LI VILLAGES’ PAYROLLS NEWSDAY ●COM

the Suffolk County Police Depart- SPORTS FINAL newsday.com $1.50 | LI EDITION ment’s Seventh Precinct in Shirley Monday Dec. 21, 2015 HI 54°LO49° J THE LONG ISLAND NEWSPAPER PARTLY CLOUDY on the afternoon of Jan. 23, 2013. There are eight units on the cellblock, each one NEWSDAY /NEWS12 SPECIAL REPORT 6-foot-1 across by 7-foot-9 long and furnished only with a metal sink-toilet and a wooden bench. Through the bars and up near the ceil- UNTOLD ing, surveillance cameras eyed each cell. A tinted plastic shell protected each camera, and in its reflection Burke could see another prisoner locked up two doors STORY Father wasmisled away in Male Cell #1. about son’s jail-cell suicide

“I’m sorry you got arrested for what- A6-7 | WATCHVIDEOATNEWSDAY ●COM Joaquin Franqui, right, learned details of

the death of his son, Jack, above,from MILANO another inmate.

ever you got arrested for,” said the other JOHNNY COPYRIGHT 2015, NEWSDAY LLC, LONG ISLAND,VOL. 76,NO. 110 prisoner, who introduced himself as Jack. $5,000 Cash Giveaway Five luckyNewsday or OptimumOnlinecustomers whohaveregistered for “I’m kind of glad you did though, because digitalaccesswill wina$1,000 holidayshopping spree. To register,visit newsday.com/shoppingspree

Forcompleteofficial rules, visit newsday.com/shoppingspree now I have some company.” 2113789201 Over the next few hours, Burke, 35, and Jack Franqui were the only prisoners on the precinct cell bock, typically an which he had been attacked by inmates, overnight way station for recently arrest- left with stitches and resorted to protected people awaiting arraignment the next ing himself with a spoon sharpened to a morning. point. As Franqui told Burke he couldn’t The temperature outside was be- do any more time in jail, his friendly de- low freezing and cold enough inside that meanor turned dark. Burke could see his own breath. He ripped “I’m going to hang up,” he said. off a piece of his blanket and tossed it to Franqui began screaming that he was Franqui, who had none of his own. having chest pains and needed medical at- Franqui explained to Burke why he tention or he would be leaving his cell in a was there: He’d been unfairly targeted body bag. He banged his head against the and roughed up by police, who wrongful- cell walls and soaked himself in toilet water. ly arrested him and accused him of things Police officers, who were 70 feet away he’d never done — like ordering his dog in a separate part of the building, appeared to attack an officer. in the cellblock on two occasions an hour He was less than three months re- apart, according to Burke. On the first vis- moved from a lengthy jail stint during it, they denied Franqui’s request for medi-

1 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

cal attention, Burke said. On the second, being a part of the investigation. they removed a T-shirt Franqui had fash- Among them were Charles Leser and ioned into a noose and tied to the bars. Ronald Tavares, homicide veterans who Burke said that after they had caught have attracted legal scrutiny for their role Franqui making a noose, he figured the of- in the alleged cover-up of a 2011 police ficers would no longer ignore the clearly shooting of unarmed cabdriver Thomas disturbed prisoner. “OK, they’ll do some- Moroughan in Huntington Station. They thing now,” he said. obtained from Moroughan a since-dis- He was wrong. The officers never re- credited statement that initially justified turned for Franqui, who grew even more intoxicated off-duty Nassau County po- despondent and made preparations for lice Officer Anthony DiLeonardo’s deci- his death. He talked about his dog and sion to fire at Moroughan. At least one his dad and gave Burke permission to go other homicide conviction has since been fishing on his family’s 12-foot motorboat. vacated because it hinged on Tavares’ de- He repeated seven digits for Burke to re- tective work. member — the phone number for Fran- At the precinct, the homicide squad qui’s father in Rocky Point — and had found the trio of officers who had been him recite the numbers back to ensure responsible for Franqui’s life. they’d been memorized. Sgt. Kevin O’Reilly was the desk su- Franqui asked Burke to tell his dad that pervisor and the officer in charge of the his arrest was bogus and that he was sorry precinct. He had worked the desk only but couldn’t go back behind bars. He said once or twice before and had been pro- to “please tell his dad that he loved him, moted about two and a half weeks earlier. and not to let him die in vain,” Burke later He had not yet completed the superviso- stated in a sworn affidavit. ry training required of every sergeant in Then, after a short period of silence, the department. Franqui uttered his last words: “That’s it.” The desk officers working under O’Reilly were George Oliva, who had CPD homicide detectives re- been stationed at that desk about fifteen sponded to the precinct shortly times, and Joseph Simeone, who had been Sbefore 7 that night to investigate stashed there for more than a decade af- Jack Franqui’s suicide. A later homi- ter superiors deemed him “less than ad- cide report identified five detectives as equate” as a police officer. Simeone had

A6 TOPSTORIES TOPSTORIES A7 ANEWSDAY AND NEWS12 SPECIAL REPORT ( PART 2 ) ૽ THE SEVENTH PRECINCTVS. JACK FRANQUI Cops misled dad about troubled son’s jail-cell suicide Among Jack Franqui’s lastwords wasaplea: Te ll my dad the real storyofwhat happened today. MILANO JOHNNY

BY GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS feet away in aseparate part of dadthatheloved him, and not O’Reilly’s decision to makeno video record made Burke’s ac- Afterhearing from Burke, [email protected] the building, appeared in the to let him die in vain,” Burke NEWSDAY.COM effort to save Franqui’s lifea count vital to ascertaining Joaquin Franqui, Jack’s father, cellblock on twooccasions an laterwrote in asworn affi- failureworthyofdisciplinary what occurred. hired alawyerand filed a John Burke entered Male hour apart, according to davit. action. Though Burke’s story would lawsuit againstSuffolk County Cell #3 at the Suffolk County Burke.Onthe firstvisit, they Then, afterashort period of Thedetectivesalso spoke be echoed by officers when and its policedepartment. PoliceDepartment’s Seventh denied Franqui’s request for silence, Franqui utteredhis NOWONLINE with Burke.The Brooklyn resi- theytestified under oath be- Precinct in Shirleyonthe after- medical attention, Burke said. last words: “That’s it.” News 12 videos dent hadbeen locked up that fore aspecial grand jury,a noon of Jan. 23,2013. There On the second,theyremoved at newsday.com dayonchargesthathe’d at- homicide report filed amonth oner wasyelling suicidal areeight units on the cell- aT-shirt Franqui hadfash- tempted to arrangetohave afterFranqui’s suicide pre- threats forthe guards to hear, block, each one 6-foot-1 across ioned intoanoose and tied to CPD homicide detectives TIMELINE sexwith a10-year-old girlby sented amoresanitized ver- onlythathe“mentioned” to by 7-foot-9 long and furnished the bars. Sresponded to the precinct Details on the suicide offering her mother $4,500 — sion of what happened. Burke “thathewas going to onlywith ametal sink-toilet Burke said thatafter they shortlybefore7thatnight to of Jack Franqui abackground thatwould typi- Burkerepeatedlyreferred to hang himself.” and awooden bench. hadcaught Franqui making a investigateJack Franqui’s sui- callymakefor an imperfect Franqui making his T- shirt Thereport shows O’Reilly

Through the bars and up Y noose, he figuredthe officers cide.Alaterhomicide report newsday.com witness. But Burke ultimately intoa“noose,” and thatoffi- told homicide detectivesthat near the ceiling, surveillance MIL would no longer ignorethe identified five detectivesas testified under oath about cers advised Franqui to “stop Franqui tied his T- shirt to the cameras eyed each cell. A FA clearly disturbed prisoner. being apart of the investiga- Franqui’s death at least three doing stupid [expletive]” as bars in “an apparent attempt tinted plastic shell protected tion. times, including beforeaspe- to obscurethe vision of the PD “OK,they’ll do something they removedthe shirt from

each camera, and in its reflec- FRANQUI SC now,”hesaid. Among them were Charles cial grand jury,and the critical the bars.Burke said Franqui’s surveillance camera,” not to tion Burke could see another Jack Franqui in afamily photo John Burke, in anearbycell, He waswrong. Theofficers Leser and Ronald Tavares, ficerswho had been responsi- than adequate”asapoliceoffi- elements of his account have request formedical attention makeanoose,asBurke in- ne

m prisoner locked up twodoors on Christmas Dayin2012. heardFranqui’s lastwords. neverreturned forFranqui, homicide veterans whohave blefor Franqui’s life. cer. Simeone had health prob- not been challenged. In fact, wasdenied by an officerwho sisted. ws co away in Male Cell #1. whogrewevenmoredespon- attracted legal scrutinyfor Sgt. Kevin O’Reillywas the lems that limited him to light Burke’s story has been corrob- said, “If we bring youtothe When Franqui finally y. da da

“I’m sorry yougot arrested enough inside thatBurke mates, leftwith stitches and re- dent and made preparations their role in the alleged desk supervisor andthe offi- duty status and barred him orated by evidenceand the tes- hospital, we’ll just end up hanged himself with his jeans y. co ws forwhateveryou gotarrested could see his ownbreath. He sorted to protecting himself forhis death. He talked about cover-up of a2011 policeshoot- cerincharge of the precinct. from contact with prisoners. timonyofseveral policeoffi- bringing youback here.” and could be heardgasping m ne for,”said the other prisoner, ripped offapieceofhis blan- with aspoon sharpened to a his dog and his dadand gave ing of unarmed cabdriver He hadworkedthe desk only When the officers found cers. In sworn testimony, Burke forbreath, Burke told the de-

whointroduced himself as ketand tossed it to Franqui, point. As Franqui told Burke Burke permission to go fishing Thomas Moroughan in Hunt- onceortwicebeforeand had Franqui hanging in his cell Burke also told his story said Franqui repeatedlythreat- tectiveshescreamed foroffi- NEW 15 1

20 Jack. “I’m kind of gladyou did whohad none of his own. he couldn’t do anymoretime on his family’s 12-foot motor- ington Station.Theyobtained been promoted about2/ 2 wearing onlywhitesocks and with the belief thathewould ened to kill himself.“And he cers to come help until he real- SD

21, though, because nowIhave Franqui explained to Burke in jail, his friendlydemeanor boat.Herepeatedseven digits from Moroughan asince-dis- weeks earlier.Hehad not yet camouflageunderwear, be backed by the perfect wit- just kept on saying —likehe ized it wasafutile effort. AY

some company.” whyhewas there: He’d been turned dark. forBurke to remember —the credited statement thatini- completed the supervisory O’Reillytold the detectives, ness: Thesurveillancecam- wasscreaming to them, ‘If you “Itgot to the point whereI ,M Over the next fewhours, unfairly targetedand roughed “I’m going to hang up,” he phone number forFranqui’s fa- tiallyjustified intoxicated training required of every the prisoner had no pulse and eras trained on the cells. don’t getmemedical atten- just gave up and Iwas just OND EMBER

EC Burke,35, and Jack Franqui up by police, whowrongfully said. ther in RockyPoint —and had off-duty Nassau Countypolice sergeant in the department. was“purple,blotchyand “Again, the tape will showit tion, I’m going to leave herein standing therejust in shock,” AY

,D were the onlyprisonersonthe arrested him and accused him Franqui began screaming him recitethe numbersback OfficerAnthonyDiLeonardo’s Thedesk officers working cold.” O’Reillydeclared Fran- all,” Burke said. abodybag,’ ”Burke said. “I Burke latertestified. “LikeI ,D

AY precinct cellbock, typicallyan of thingshe’d neverdone — thathewas having chest pains to ensurethey’d been memo- decision to fire at Moroughan. underO’ReillywereGeorge qui “gone” and in an effort to mean, he screamed that.” could hear his bones cracking EC

overnight waystation forre- likeordering his dog to attack andneeded medical attention rized. At least one other homicide Oliva,who had been stationed preservethe crime scene,had Thehomicide report noted and stuff, youknow.” EMBER OND centlyarrested people await- an officer. or he would be leaving his cell Franqui asked Burke to tell conviction has sincebeen va- at that desk aboutfifteen stopped Oliva from untying he homicide detectives Burke’s claim that Franqui was There’s no waytoknowat ,M ing arraignment the next He waslessthan three in abodybag. He banged his his dad thathis arrest was catedbecause it hinged on times, and Joseph Simeone, Franqui and attempting to re- would find, however, that ignored when he asked an offi- what point Franqui still could AY

T 21,

SD morning. months removedfroma headagainst the cell walls and bogus and thathewas sorry Tavares’ detective work. whohad been stashed there suscitate him. the surveillancecameras at cerfor medical assistance. But have been saved. Butatleast Thetemperatureoutside lengthyjail stint during which soaked himself in toilet water. butcouldn’t go back behind At the precinct, the homi- formorethan adecade after Astate investigatory com- the precinct did not record the detectivesdid not report 20 15 NEW wasbelowfreezing and cold he hadbeen attacked by in- Policeofficers, whowere70 bars.Hesaid to “please tell his cide squadfound the trio of of- superiorsdeemed him “less mission would latercall anyfootage. Thelack of a thatBurke said the fellowpris- See FRANQUI on A14

2 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

health problems that limited him to light trained on the cells. duty status and barred him from contact “Again, the tape will show it all,” with prisoners. Burke said. When the officers found Franqui hanging in his cell wearing only white socks he homicide detectives would and camouflage underwear, O’Reilly find, however, that the surveil- told the detectives, the prisoner had no Tlance cameras at the precinct did pulse and was “purple, blotchy and cold.” not record any footage. The lack of a vid- O’Reilly declared Franqui “gone” and in eo record made Burke’s account vital to an effort to preserve the crime scene, had ascertaining what occurred. stopped Oliva from untying Franqui and Though Burke’s story would be attempting to resuscitate him. echoed by officers when they testified A state investigatory commission under oath before a special grand jury, a would later call O’Reilly’s decision to homicide report filed a month after Fran- make no effort to save Franqui’s life a fail- qui’s suicide presented a more sanitized ure worthy of disciplinary action. version of what happened. The detectives also spoke with Burke. Burke repeatedly referred to Franqui The Brooklyn resident had been locked making his T-shirt into a “noose,” and that up that day on charges that he’d attempt- officers advised Franqui to “stop doing ed to arrange to have sex with a 10-year- stupid” as they removed the shirt from old girl by offering her mother $4,500 — the bars. Burke said Franqui’s request for a background that would typically make medical attention was denied by an offi- for an imperfect witness. But Burke ulti- cer who said, “If we bring you to the hos- mately testified under oath about Fran- pital, we’ll just end up bringing you back qui’s death at least three times, including here.” before a special grand jury, and the criti- In sworn testimony, Burke said Fran- cal elements of his account have not been qui repeatedly threatened to kill himself. challenged. In fact, Burke’s story has been “And he just kept on saying — like he was corroborated by evidence and the testi- screaming to them, ‘If you don’t get me mony of several police officers. medical attention, I’m going to leave here Burke also told his story with the be- in a body bag,’ ” Burke said. “I mean, he lief that he would be backed by the per- screamed that.” fect witness: The surveillance cameras The homicide report noted Burke’s

A14 LONG ISLAND LONG ISLAND A15

FRANQUI from A6A7 amine the blunt forcein- juries” to his bodyand SEVENTH PRECINCTSTATION CELL 3 CELL 2 CELL 1 three times thatyear,Suffolk Spota’s office “failed to con- Countyprecinct officers no- duct anyinvestigation” of the ticed prisonersattempting to death in custodyevenafterit hang themselveswith shirts hadbeen ruled ahomicide. tiedtoholding cell bars and Spota, in adefiant response FRONT reached them in time to res- writtenonJune 27,2013, called DESK cue them. Burke, however, the commission’s report 1 2 said it took roughlyfiveto10 “baselessand inaccurate.” minutesfor officers to arrive Meanwhile,nearly six —too late to save Franqui, as months hadpassed sinceFran- 5 4 O’Reillydecided. qui’sdeath, and Spota’s office Thehomicide detectives hadnot convened agrand jury learned howBurke’s screams to investigatethe incident. could have gone unheard. Oliva acknowledged that the 8CELLS volume on atelevision they ranqui’s familyfiled its law- were watching made it “diffi- Fsuit in U.S. District Court 3 cult to overhear sounds from forthe Eastern District in Cen- VIDEOCAMERAS the cellblock.” tral Islip in late October 2013. 7 6 In addition, detectivesdis- In January 2014 —nearly a 1. Front Desk 2. Video Monitors 3. Male

coveredthatanintercomsys- Y year afterFranqui’s death — OfficersJoseph The front desk has 16 holding cells teminstalled to transmit MIL Spotaconvened aspecial Simeone and George video monitorsshow- The male holding sound from the cellblock to FA grand jury to investigatethe Olivamanned the ing footageofthe cells whereFranqui the precinct desk hadbeen matter. front desk at the time cellblockswhere waslocked up are 4. Male Cell 1 5. Male Cell 3 6. Video camera 7. Video camera

switched off, according a FRANQUI Pace LawSchool Professor of the suicide.Di- prisonersare kept. situated 70 feet from Franqui waslocked in Sexoffender John on Franqui’s cell on Burke’s cell grand jury report. Thehomi- Jack Franqui is shown with his father,Joaquin, in an undated family photo. andformer Manhattanprose- rectly behind their Though an intercom the front desk. Male Cell 1at2:25 Burkewas locked in According to Burke, Burketestified that cide squad’s ownreport, how- cutorBennettGershman said desk wasthat of wasinstalled, during p.m. Male Cell 3roughly he and Franqui could as Franqui hung from ever,statesthatthe intercom wassuicidal,” Fitzpatrick said support youbecause your son seescorrectional institutions it’s highlyunusual foradis- supervisor on duty, Franqui’s death the 20 minutes after seeeach other apair of jeans,Burke system was“operational and in aNewsdayarticle pub- seemed likeaniceguy.” criticized Suffolk County’s district attorneytoallowso Sgt. Kevin O’Reilly. sound wasmuted Franqui waslocked through reflections in facedacamera, at alow volume setting.” lished the morning afterFran- “I gottoknowhim foracou- trict attorney’s office and po- much time to elapse before and the officers’ up. asecuritycamera pointed toward Therewereother keyfacts qui’s death. plehours,” Burke latertesti- licedepartment formishan- opening agrand jury probe. television audio was encasement. Franqui’s cell, and notfound in the homicide re- Fitzpatrick retired last year fied. “And Ijust felt likewhat dling acase similar to thatof “It’s incomprehensible that turned up. screamed forhelp. port thatwould provecentral anddeclined to comment for happened wasn’t right.” Franqui. theywould wait so long, espe- to the grand jury investiga- this article,citing the ongoing Afterspeaking with Burke, Thestate Commission of ciallyifyou’retalking about tion. litigation. Franqui’s father hired Mineola Correction found in areport events thatrelyonpeople’s as interested onlyin“the then Ihavetorest,” Simeone from him.” vision or send himtoahospi- On the night of Franqui’s sui- attorneyAnthony released June 2013 thatDis- memories,” Gershman said. arena of futureretirement said in adeposition forhis law- Simeone did not tell the talafter the T- shirt incident cide,Det. Tavaresobtained Grandinette.Inarecent inter- trict AttorneyThomas Peter Davis, arecentlyre- planning.” suit, which wasultimately dis- homicide detectivesabout the was“afatal mistake” thatled and reviewedphone record- he onlycivilian eyewit- view, Grandinette called the Spota’s office hadbeen negli- tired professor at TouroLaw Theevaluation stated that missed beforetrial. “After blanket incident, which oc- to Franqui’s death. ingstoand from the precinct. Tnesswho could contradict suicide in policecustodythe gent in failing to criminally Center whopreviouslyprobed Simeone’s “performance putting in an eight-hour day, curred beforeBurke was Both Simeone and O’Reilly Thehomicide report does not the homicide commander’s ac- result of officers’“catastr- investigatethe homicide of policemisconduct as special began to deteriorate” in 1988, I’m exhausted.” locked up in the cellblock. refused to answerquestions notethatthe phone calls con- count spent the next two ophic failuretofollowtheir Daniel McDonnell, acarpen- counsel to aSuffolk County his seventh year on the job.In Simeone’s limited duty sta- Simeone’s supervisor, when subpoenaed by the com- tained evidencethatSimeone months in Suffolk County jail ownrules and regulations” terwith mental and physical Legislaturecommittee, agreed yearssince, asupervisor re- tus allowedhim to carry agun O’Reilly, also said he hadnot mission, invoking their Fifth hadwithheld information cells. and criticized the homicide health problems whodied in thatthe lag beforeconvening ported problems motivating butnot have anyphysical con- been told aboutthe blanket. Amendment right to not in- from his supervisor,and then Burke wasreleased on squad’s findings, which were a2011 struggle with officers the grand jury wasunusual. Simeone,who “purportedlyin- tact with suspects. Neverthe- Simeone acknowledged to criminate themselves. laterfromdetectives, concern- March 22,2013, after pleading “directlyopposite” of what the at the FirstPrecinct. Suffolk “The general rule is thata curred aback injury” when he less, the department stationed the grand jury that“anytime AttorneyBrian J. Davis, ing yetanother incident ear- guiltytochargesthatincluded evidenceshowed. Countyultimately paid $2.25 delayisbad forthe district at- fell outofhis chair at apolice him since2000 at the Seventh yousee somebodydoing whorepresents O’Reilly, de- lier in the day, when Franqui’s afelonyfor disseminating in- “Thatisnot by mistake,” million to settle awrongful torney’s case and good for precinct in 1996. Ayear later, Precinct front desk, wherehis something by the bars,that’s fended his client’s actions on blanket wasconfiscatedafter decent material to minors. He Grandinette said. “Thatisby death lawsuit filed by Mc- criminal defendants,” Davis Simeone hadaheart attack duties included checking on ared flag, youtakealook.” the dayofFranqui’s death by he tied it to the bars of his cell. received asentenceoftime design and it’s nothing short Donnell’s family. said. “You don’t want adelayif and wasplaced on permanent prisonersinthe cellblock. ButSimeone testified he did noting his inexperienceasa Thehomicide squad also served and immediately upon of fraud and corruption.” Thecommission found that youcan avoid it.” limited duty. Special grand jury testi- not believe confiscating Fran- supervisor.

did not report thataninspec- hisrelease searched online for In April 2013,Jack Franqui’s officers conducted prisoner During the nine-month spe- Thedeputy inspector’s eval- monycalled intoquestion Z qui’s blanket wasasignifi- “Therewerecertain things

tion logshowedthat Simeone, news aboutFranqui’s suicide. estatefiled anoticeofclaim checks via securitymonitors cial grand jury session, prose- uation concluded that the offi- whether Simeone hadbeen BET cant event of the sort that procedurallythat he hadnever

whowas responsible for He found the Newsdayarti- —aprecursor to alawsuit — rather than making required cutors called 24 witnesses and cer“seems to be lacking those making those checks. Simeone ED would merit action. been trained in,” Davis said in checking on prisonersduring cle containing what he called againstSuffolk Countyand its visits to the cellblock, ignored presented 45 exhibits of evi- qualities we expect of poten- kept an activitylog indicating Officer Joseph Simeone wason Sgt. O’Reillydisagreed, testi- arecent interview, adding that thatshift, did not makethose Fitzpatrick’s “ridiculous” char- police department. Theclaim McDonnell’s screams formedi- dence,much of it materials tial supervisors,” including thatfrom3p.m. through 5p.m. dutythe night of the suicide. fying beforethe special grand the lack of training was“not checks as required. acterization of Franqui’s calm allegedthatSuffolk officers vi- cal attention and failed to thathomicide investigators “interest in one’s career,needs during Franqui’s time locked jury thatifhehad known his fault.” ne

m In his owninterviewwith demeanor before the suicide. olatedFranqui’s civil rights placehim under one-on-one hadaccesstoonthe night of of the public, development of up,hehad checked on him log.” aboutthe blanket incident ws co thedetectives, Simeone said “I wasangered by that,” Burke when theyfalselydetained supervision despitehis agi- the suicide. subordinatesand attainment every half-hour,asrequired. Though the homicide detec- when officers later removed y. da da

“atnotime did the prisoner in- said in sworn testimony. him, used excessiveforce dur- tatedstate. Thebrunt of the blame of Department goals and objec- However, the log showedno tivesdid not noteitintheir re- the T- shirt from Franqui’s cell, aceLaw Professor Gersh- y. co ws dicate thatheneeded medical On the dayhewas set free, ing the arrest, ignored his sui- Thecommission report would fall on Simeone,whose tives.” inspection until 5:40,when it port, their investigation uncov- he would have putthe pris- man reviewedspecial P m ne attention or thathewas a Burke dialed the phone num- cidal actions and pleas for statesthathomicide detec- contentious history with the Though Simeone called the is notedthatFranqui’s T- shirt ered recordingsoftwo oner under one-on-one super- grand jury reports and other

threattohimself.” ber Franqui hadasked him to medical attention, and then tivesperformed a“cursory department is contained in a evaluation “untruthful,” he ac- wasconfiscated. precinct phone calls in which vision. “Franqui’s suicide documents detailing Franqui’s NEW 15

20 Despitethe evidencetothe memorize. When Franqui’s fa- covereduptheir failings. and incomplete” investigation separatecivil court case that knowledged under oath that Theofficer acknowledged Simeone could be heardspeak- would not have occurred and suicide at Newsday’s request. SD

21, contrary,the policedepart- ther —who also goes by Jack “Hewould still be here intothe circumstances of Mc- wasnot noted in the grand he haddifficultywith such during his special grand jury ing aboutablanket thathad waspreventable,” aspecial Theformer prosecutorsaid AY

ment’s public statements mir- —answered, Burke told him todayifwehad people behind Donnell’s death, including the jury report. physical activityaswalking testimonythathis log may also been confiscatedfrom grand jury report stated. criminal chargesagainst Sime- ,M roredSimeone’s description what happened and that“the thatdesk whowerewilling to use of excessiveforce by offi- Simeone unsuccessfully through amall, washing his have been inaccurate. Franqui. TheCommission on Correc- one and other officers could OND EMBER

EC of events. Then-homicide com- reports in the news were serveand protect,” Franqui’s cers. sued the SCPD in 2000,claim- car,vacuuming arug or “Simeone wasreluctant to “Hewas tying the blanket,” tion, which completed its own have included conspiracy,offi- AY

,D mander Det. Lt.John “Jack” false.” father said. “Theylied aboutit Thecommission also deter- ing thathehad been rejected traversing aflight of stairs. A stateduring his testimonythat Simeone said. “That’s why report on Franqui’s death in cial misconduct, filing afalse ,D

AY Fitzpatrick, whosigned his Franqui’s familyhad re- and hid the fact that they mined the policedepartment forpromotion to sergeant due phone call to his desk at the the inspections were actually we don’t give them blankets. September,agreed with the instrument, tampering with ev- EC

unit’s report detailing their in- ceived no information from didn’t do their job.” had“failed to conduct acom- to discrimination on the basis precinct onceaggravated him occurring at the recorded Idon’t knowwhy theygive special grand jury’s findings idence, obstructing govern- EMBER OND vestigation of the suicide,de- lawenforcement officials prehensiveinternal investiga- of disabilityand age. so badlythathesufferedan times,” aspecial grand jury re- them blankets.” At another butfound thatSimeone was mental administration and per- ,M scribed Franqui as calm and at aboutthe suicide other than tion” intoMcDonnell’s Thedepartment countered angina attack and hadtocall port stated. “Headmitteddur- point he could be heardsay- not the onlyofficer at fault. jury. AY 21,

SD ease with officers beforeunex- what Fitzpatrick hadsaid to sFranqui’s familymoved “preventable” death, the med- thatthe rejection wasbased his wifetotakehim home, ing his testimonythat some of ing “tying ablanket ...to Thecommission also stated Retired TouroProfessor pectedlytaking his ownlife. the media. Burke told Fran- aheadwith their lawsuit, a ical examiner’s office “failed largely on adeputy inspector’s Simeone testified. the inspections maynot have the bars”and stating that thatO’Reilly’s failuretoput 20 A 15 NEW “Therewas no indication he qui’s father,“Iwill be thereto statecommission thatover- to adequately identify and ex- evaluation depicting Simeone “Mybatteries run lowand occurred as writtenonthe “wetook the blanket away Franqui under isolatedsuper- See FRANQUI on A16

3 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

claim that Franqui was ignored when he The homicide detectives learned how asked an officer for medical assistance. Burke’s screams could have gone un- But the detectives did not report that heard. Oliva acknowledged that the vol- Burke said the fellow prisoner was yell- ume on a television they were watching ing suicidal threats for the guards to hear, made it “difficult to overhear sounds from only that he “mentioned” to Burke “that the cellblock.” he was going to hang himself.” In addition, detectives discovered that The report shows O’Reilly told ho- an intercom system installed to transmit micide detectives that Franqui tied his sound from the cellblock to the precinct T-shirt to the bars in “an apparent at- desk had been switched off, according a tempt to obscure the vision of the sur- grand jury report. The homicide squad’s veillance camera,” not to make a noose, own report, however, states that the inter- as Burke insisted. com system was “operational and at a low When Franqui finally hung himself volume setting.” with his jeans and could be heard gasp- There were other key facts not found ing for breath, Burke told the detectives in the homicide report that would prove he screamed for officers to come help un- central to the grand jury investigation. til he realized it was a futile effort. On the night of Franqui’s suicide, Det. “It got to the point where I just gave Tavares obtained and reviewed phone up and I was just standing there just recordings to and from the precinct. in shock,” Burke later testified. “Like I The homicide report does not note that could hear his bones cracking and stuff, the phone calls contained evidence that you know.” Simeone had withheld information from There’s no way to know at what point his supervisor, and then later from de- Franqui still could have been saved. But at tectives, concerning yet another incident least three times that year, Suffolk Coun- earlier in the day, when Franqui’s blan- ty precinct officers noticed prisoners at- ket was confiscated after he tied it to the tempting to hang themselves with shirts bars of his cell. tied to holding cell bars and reached them The homicide squad also did not rein time to rescue them. Burke, however, port that an inspection log showed that said it took roughly five to 10 minutes for Simeone, who was responsible for check- officers to arrive — too late to save Fran- ing on prisoners during that shift, did not qui, as O’Reilly decided. make those checks as required.

A16 LONG ISLAND

FRANQUI from A14A15 the Franqui case,but said in an emailed statement thatit“co- Davis, whoalso reviewedthe ntinues to implement and documents, said thatthe offi- maintain the best policeprac- cers involved “certainly” tices” in ensuring the safety of could have been chargedwith arrestees and hadmade some of those crimes, compar- changes in mental health ing the Franqui situation to screening, prisoner monitor- the ongoing prosecution of ing and training. Baltimorepoliceofficers Thegrand jury reports also blamed forprisoner Freddie noted thatsome changes had Gray’s death in custody. already been implemented in Butthe grand jurorsin the immediate wake of Fran- Franqui’s case did not have qui’s death. Steel doorstocell- the option to indict either blocks arenow operatedbya Simeone or O’Reilly, because keycardthattracks which offi- both received from district at- cerischecking on prisoners, torneySpotawhatisknown and howoften. And officers as “transactional immunity.” must nowkeep their In NewYork, if agrand jury precinct’s intercominthe “on” witnessisallowedtotestify position so thataprisoner’s

withoutwaiving the right to Y screams forhelp can be heard. automatic immunity, the wit- MIL Although not requested by nessisshielded from prosecu- FA the grand jury,the officers’ tion in the case. television has been removed

Aspecial grand jury re- FRANQUI from the Seventh Precinct. port justified the decision Afamily photoshows Joaquin Franqui, left, and his son Jack Franqui on Christmas Day2012. to allowSimeone and O’Reillytoreceive immu- of the shooting whomay ficers likeSimeone not be and public importanceof ourt recordsshowthat nitybecause their “testimo- have broken the law. permittedtoperform pris- grand jury proceedings. CSimeone wasnot inter- ny waskey to determining Gershman noted that oner inspections; thatsuper- “The recommendations viewedbythe department’s what occurred” and “in Spota’s handling of transac- visorsberanked higher than then need to be communi- Internal AffairsBureau until 1 order to learn the truth, tional immunityinthe sergeant in order to be in catedtothe people involved July 2014,nearly 1 / 2 years prosecutors were forced to DiLeonardo and Franqui charge of aprecinct; and that and theyshould be published afterFranqui’s suicide. give up the abilitytocrimi- cases were at odds. But“in each desk have morethan to the general public as well,” Therecords reveal thatad- nallyprosecute anypolice both cases it appearshe’s pro- twoofficersand asupervisor Davis said. “If theydon’t do ministrativechargeswere officer.” tecting the police,”Gersh- per shift. that, then I’m not quitesure filed against at least three offi- Gershman said with other man said. And the special grand jury what the point is.” cers:Simeone,Sgt. O’Reilly, willingwitnesses —such as reports called forall precinct At least one lawmaker who and Lt.John McHugh, who Burke and OfficerOliva,who videocameras to record and would be central to imple- oversawthe previous shift agreed to waivehis right to he special grand jury that be positionedtomonitor the mentingthe recommended and booked Franqui. The immunitybeforetestifying — Tinvestigated Franqui’s officers as well as the prison- reforms said although she recordsdonot specify the “you don’t have to give immu- death released tworeports, ers. knewofFranqui’s suicide, chargesagainst the officers nitytoany of these officers.” one calling forSimeone to be Special grand jury reports she had“heardnothing” or whether anydiscipline State criminal justicestatis- disciplined and the other arepublic recordsunder aboutaprobe being con- wasadministered. In its state- tics showthatSuffolk County proposing recommendations NewYorkState law, and vened to investigateit. ment, which did not name prosecutors arenormallyun- forwidespread reform to pre- Spotahas touted manyof Legis. Kate Browning anyofficers, the SCPD said encumbered by the transac- vent another tragedy. those reports on his office’s (WF-Shirley),who is chair of thatthe adjudication of disci- tional immunity lawand are Among the 19 recommen- website. Butinthe matterof the Suffolk CountyPublic pline was“still pending.” among the most successful in dations, grand jurorsinthe Franqui’s suicide,hedid not Safety Committeeand whose O’Reilly’s attorney, Davis, the stateduring typical grand Franqui case called forthe have the report posted and district includes the Seventh said thathis client hadnot jury proceedings. Between formation of acountytask made no public announce- Precinct, said she hadnot seen been disciplined and thathe 2008 and 2014,Spota’s office forcetoinvestigate ways in ment that an investigation copies of the special grand did not expect anydiscipline wonover314 indictments to which Suffolk policecan im- hadoccurred. Spotawould jury reports until aNewsday to be meted outuntil the con- each “no bill” —meaning a prove“prisoner safety,secu- not makehimself available reporter provided them in Sep- clusion of the civil action by proceeding thatended with- rity, humane treatment and foraninterviewwith News- tember. Franqui’s family. outanindictment due to in- medical treatment” forde- day, which firstcontacted his “It’s alittle disturbing when Thespecial grand jury rec- sufficient evidence—in tainees. office aboutthis story in Sep- youcall me aboutsomething ommended Simeone’s “remo-

m grand juries stemming from Grandinette,the Franqui tember. and Idon’t have thatinforma- valordisciplinary action as

co felonyarrests. Thestatewide family’s attorney, said thathe prescribed by law.”InJanu- y.

da averageinthe same kind of relayedtothe district attor- ary 2015,Spotawrote in alet-

ws cases over thatspanwas just ney’s office arequest from tertothen-SCPD Commis- ne over 17 indictments to every Franqui’s father that he be in- sioner Edward Webber that it no bill. volved in the proposed task washis “recommendation 15

20 Spotahas also blamed the forceinspired by his son’s and hope” thatthe depart- INTERVIEW

21, transactional immunitylaw death. Grandinette said he re- ment fire Simeone and imple- forhis inabilitytoprosecute ceived no response. News 12’s interview AN ment the special grand jury’s policeinthe special grand Thereport also recom- recommendations “so thatan- EMBER with DA Spota. SULLIV

EC jury convened to investigate mended thatthe policede- other tragedyisprevented.” D.

,D the cabdrivershooting in partment improvescreening longisland.news12.com/spotavideo Simeone,who earned SEPH AY Huntington Station by intoxi- so that officers areaware of $168,344 in 2014,has not been catedoff-duty NassauOfficer an arrestee’s past suicidal or JO firedinconnection with Fran- OND DiLeonardo.Spotaclaimed psychiatric behavior; that Former TouroProfessor tion,” Browning said. qui’s death. He has been ,M in thatcase thathis prosecu- precincts employ“detention Davis said he found the lack Thepolicedepartment transferred to the policede- AY

SD tors could not proceed at all attendants” to “maintain of promotion of the grand cited the ongoing litigation in partment’s Ya phank-based forfear of granting immunity close physical observation of jury’s findingstroubling con- denying Newsdayaninter- propertybureau, whereheis NEW to other officers at the scene prisoners”; that light-dutyof- sidering thehigh expense viewwith anyofficials about responsible forevidence.

4 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

In his own interview with the detec- After speaking with Burke, Franqui’s tives, Simeone said “at no time did the father hired Mineola attorney Anthony prisoner indicate that he needed medi- Grandinette. In a recent interview, Gran- cal attention or that he was a threat to dinette called the suicide in police custo- himself.” dy the result of officers’ “catastrophic fail- Despite the evidence to the contrary, ure to follow their own rules and regula- the police department’s public statements tions” and criticized the homicide squad’s mirrored Simeone’s description of events. findings, which were “directly opposite” Then-homicide commander Det. Lt. John of what the evidence showed. “Jack” Fitzpatrick, who signed his unit’s “That is not by mistake,” Grandinette report detailing their investigation of the said. “That is by design and it’s nothing suicide, described Franqui as calm and at short of fraud and corruption.” ease with officers before unexpectedly In April 2013, Jack Franqui’s estate taking his own life. filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a “There was no indication he was lawsuit — against Suffolk County and its suicidal,” Fitzpatrick said in a News- police department. The claim alleged that day article published the morning after Suffolk officers violated Franqui’s civ- Franqui’s death. il rights when they falsely detained him, Fitzpatrick retired last year and de- used excessive force during the arrest, ig- clined to comment for this article, citing nored his suicidal actions and pleas for the ongoing litigation. medical attention, and then covered up their failings. he only civilian eyewitness “He would still be here today if we who could contradict the ho- had people behind that desk who were T micide commander’s account willing to serve and protect,” Franqui’s fa- spent the next two months in Suffolk ther said. “They lied about it and hid the County jail cells. fact that they didn’t do their job.” Burke was released on March 22, 2013, after pleading guilty to charges that in- s Franqui’s family moved ahead cluded a felony for disseminating inde- with their lawsuit, a state com- cent material to minors. He received a Amission that oversees correction- sentence of time served and immediately al institutions criticized Suffolk County’s upon his release searched online for news district attorney’s office and police de- about Franqui’s suicide. partment for mishandling a case similar He found the Newsday article con- to that of Franqui. taining what he called Fitzpatrick’s “ridic- The state Commission of Correction ulous” characterization of Franqui’s calm found in a report released June 2013 that demeanor before the suicide. “I was an- District Attorney Thomas Spota’s office gered by that,” Burke said in sworn testi- had been negligent in failing to crimi- mony. nally investigate the homicide of Daniel On the day he was set free, Burke di- McDonnell, a carpenter with mental and aled the phone number Franqui had asked physical health problems who died in a him to memorize. When Franqui’s father 2011 struggle with officers at the First Pre- — who also goes by Jack — answered, cinct. Suffolk County ultimately paid $2.25 Burke told him what happened and that million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit “the reports in the news were false.” filed by McDonnell’s family. Franqui’s family had received no in- The commission found that officers formation from law enforcement officials conducted prisoner checks via securi- about the suicide other than what Fitz- ty monitors rather than making required patrick had said to the media. Burke told visits to the cellblock, ignored McDon- Franqui’s father, “I will be there to sup- nell’s screams for medical attention and port you because your son seemed like a failed to place him under one-on-one su- nice guy.” pervision despite his agitated state. “I got to know him for a couple hours,” The commission report states that ho- Burke later testified. “And I just felt like micide detectives performed a “cursory what happened wasn’t right.” and incomplete” investigation into the

5 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

circumstances of McDonnell’s death, in- civil court case that was not noted in the cluding the use of excessive force by of- grand jury report. ficers. Simeone unsuccessfully sued the The commission also determined the SCPD in 2000, claiming that he had been police department had “failed to conduct rejected for promotion to sergeant due to a comprehensive internal investigation” discrimination on the basis of disability into McDonnell’s “preventable” death, the and age. medical examiner’s office “failed to ad- The department countered that the equately identify and examine the blunt rejection was based largely on a deputy force injuries” to his body and Spota’s of- inspector’s evaluation depicting Simeone fice “failed to conduct any investigation” as interested only in “the arena of future of the death in custody even after it had retirement planning.” been ruled a homicide. The evaluation stated that Simeone’s Spota, in a defiant response written on “performance began to deteriorate” in June 27, 2013, called the commission’s re- 1988, his seventh year on the job. In years port “baseless and inaccurate.” since, a supervisor reported problems Meanwhile, nearly six months had motivating Simeone, who “purportedly passed since Franqui’s death, and Spota’s incurred a back injury” when he fell out office had not convened a grand jury to of his chair at a police precinct in 1996. A investigate the incident. year later, Simeone had a heart attack and was placed on permanent limited duty. ranqui’s family filed its lawsuit in The deputy inspector’s evaluation U.S. District Court for the East- concluded that the officer “seems to be F ern District in Central Islip in lacking those qualities we expect of po- late October 2013. In January 2014 — tential supervisors,” including “interest in nearly a year after Franqui’s death — one’s career, needs of the public, develop- Spota convened a special grand jury to ment of subordinates and attainment of investigate the matter. Department goals and objectives.” Pace Law School professor and for- Though Simeone called the evalua- mer Manhattan prosecutor Bennett Ger- tion “untruthful,” he acknowledged un- shman said it’s highly unusual for a dis- der oath that he had difficulty with such trict attorney to allow so much time to physical activity as walking through a elapse before opening a grand jury probe. mall, washing his car, vacuuming a rug or “It’s incomprehensible that they traversing a flight of stairs. A phone call would wait so long, especially if you’re to his desk at the precinct once aggravat- talking about events that rely on people’s ed him so badly that he suffered an angina memories,” Gershman said. attack and had to call his wife to take him Peter Davis, a recently retired pro- home, Simeone testified. fessor at Touro Law Center who previ- “My batteries run low and then I have ously probed police misconduct as spe- to rest,” Simeone said in a deposition for cial counsel to a Suffolk County Legisla- his lawsuit, which was ultimately dis- ture committee, agreed that the lag before missed before trial. “After putting in an convening the grand jury was unusual. eight-hour day, I’m exhausted.” “The general rule is that a delay is bad Simeone’s limited duty status allowed for the district attorney’s case and good him to carry a gun but not have any phys- for criminal defendants,” Davis said. “You ical contact with suspects. Nevertheless, don’t want a delay if you can avoid it.” the department stationed him since 2000 During the nine-month special grand at the Seventh Precinct front desk, where jury session, prosecutors called 24 wit- his duties included checking on prisoners nesses and presented 45 exhibits of evi- in the cellblock. dence, much of it materials that homicide Special grand jury testimony called investigators had access to on the night of into question whether Simeone had been the suicide. making those checks. Simeone kept an The brunt of the blame would fall on activity log indicating that from 3 p.m. Simeone, whose contentious history with through 5 p.m. during Franqui’s time the department is contained in a separate locked up, he had checked on him every

6 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

half-hour, as required. However, the log lated supervision or send him to a hospi- showed no inspection until 5:40, when it tal after the T-shirt incident was “a fatal is noted that Franqui’s T-shirt was confis- mistake” that led to Franqui’s death. cated. Both Simeone and O’Reilly refused The officer acknowledged during to answer questions when subpoenaed his special grand jury testimony that his by the commission, invoking their Fifth log may have been inaccurate. “Simeone Amendment right to not incriminate was reluctant to state during his testimo- themselves. ny that the inspections were actually oc- Attorney Brian J. Davis, who repre- curring at the recorded times,” a special sents O’Reilly, defended his client’s ac- grand jury report stated. “He admitted tions on the day of Franqui’s death by not- during his testimony that some of the in- ing his inexperience as a supervisor. spections may not have occurred as writ- “There were certain things procedur- ten on the log.” ally that he had never been trained in,” Though the homicide detectives did Davis said in a recent interview, adding not note it in their report, their investi- that the lack of training was “not his fault.” gation uncovered recordings of two precinct phone calls in which Simeone could ace Law Professor Gershman re- be heard speaking about a blanket that viewed special grand jury reports had also been confiscated from Franqui. Pand other documents detailing “He was tying the blanket,” Sime- Franqui’s suicide at Newsday’s request. one said. “That’s why we don’t give them The former prosecutor said criminal blankets. I don’t know why they give charges against Simeone and other offi- them blankets.” At another point he could cers could have included conspiracy, offi- be heard saying “tying a blanket . . . to the cial misconduct, filing a false instrument, bars” and stating that “we took the blan- tampering with evidence, obstructing ket away from him.” governmental administration and perjury. Simeone did not tell the homicide de- Retired Touro Professor Davis, who tectives about the blanket incident, which also reviewed the documents, said that occurred before Burke was locked up the officers involved “certainly” could in the cellblock. Simeone’s supervisor, have been charged with some of those O’Reilly, also said he had not been told crimes, comparing the Franqui situation about the blanket. to the ongoing prosecution of Baltimore Simeone acknowledged to the grand police officers blamed for prisoner Fred- jury that “anytime you see somebody do- die Gray’s death in custody. ing something by the bars, that’s a red But the grand jurors in Franqui’s case flag, you take a look.” But Simeone testi- did not have the option to indict either fied he did not believe confiscating Fran- Simeone or O’Reilly, because both re- qui’s blanket was a significant event of the ceived from district attorney Spota what sort that would merit action. is known as “transactional immunity.” In Sgt. O’Reilly disagreed, testifying be- New York, if a grand jury witness is al- fore the special grand jury that if he had lowed to testify without waiving the right known about the blanket incident when to automatic immunity, the witness is officers later removed the T-shirt from shielded from prosecution in the case. Franqui’s cell, he would have put the A special grand jury report justi- prisoner under one-on-one supervision. fied the decision to allow Simeone and “Franqui’s suicide would not have oc- O’Reilly to receive immunity because curred and was preventable,” a special their “testimony was key to determining grand jury report stated. what occurred” and “in order to learn the The Commission on Correction, truth, prosecutors were forced to give up which completed its own report on Fran- the ability to criminally prosecute any po- qui’s death in September, agreed with the lice officer.” special grand jury’s findings but found Gershman said with other willing wit- that Simeone was not the only officer at nesses — such as Burke and Officer Oliva, fault. The commission also stated that who agreed to waive his right to immu- O’Reilly’s failure to put Franqui under iso- nity before testifying — “you don’t have

7 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

to give immunity to any of these officers.” to “maintain close physical observation State criminal justice statistics show of prisoners”; that light-duty officers like that Suffolk County prosecutors are nor- Simeone not be permitted to perform mally unencumbered by the transac- prisoner inspections; that supervisors be tional immunity law and are among the ranked higher than sergeant in order to be most successful in the state during typi- in charge of a precinct; and that each desk cal grand jury proceedings. Between 2008 have more than two officers and a super- and 2014, Spota’s office won over 314 in- visor per shift. dictments to each “no bill” — meaning And the special grand jury reports a proceeding that ended without an in- called for all precinct video cameras to dictment due to insufficient evidence — record and be positioned to monitor the in grand juries stemming from felony ar- officers as well as the prisoners. rests. The statewide average in the same Special grand jury reports are public kind of cases over that span was just over records under New York State law, and seventeen indictments to every no bill. Spota has touted many of those reports Spota has also blamed the transaction- on his office’s website. But in the matter al immunity law for his inability to pros- of Franqui’s suicide, he did not have the ecute police in the special grand jury con- report posted and made no public an- vened to investigate the cabdriver shoot- nouncement that an investigation had ing in Huntington Station by intoxicated occurred. Spota would not make himself off-duty Nassau Officer DiLeonardo. Spo- available for an interview with Newsday, ta claimed in that case that his prosecu- which first contacted his office about this tors could not proceed at all for fear of story in September. granting immunity to other officers at the Former Touro Professor Davis said he scene of the shooting who may have bro- found the lack of promotion of the grand ken the law. jury’s findings troubling considering the Gershman noted that Spota’s handling high expense and public importance of of transactional immunity in the DiLeon- grand jury proceedings. ardo and Franqui cases were at odds. But “The recommendations then need to “in both cases it appears he’s protecting be communicated to the people involved the police,” Gershman said. and they should be published to the general public as well,” Davis said. “If they he special grand jury that inves- don’t do that, then I’m not quite sure what tigated Franqui’s death released the point is.” Ttwo reports, one calling for Sime- At least one lawmaker who would one to be disciplined and the other probe central to implementing the recom- posing recommendations for widespread mended reforms said although she knew reform to prevent another tragedy. of Franqui’s suicide, she had “heard noth- Among the 19 recommendations, ing” about a probe being convened to in- grand jurors in the Franqui case called for vestigate it. the formation of a county task force to in- Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley), vestigate ways in which Suffolk police can who is chair of the Suffolk County Public improve “prisoner safety, security, hu- Safety Committee and whose district in- mane treatment and medical treatment” cludes the Seventh Precinct, said she had for detainees. not seen copies of the special grand jury Grandinette, the Franqui family’s at- reports until a Newsday reporter provid- torney, said that he relayed to the district ed them in September. attorney’s office a request from Franqui’s “It’s a little disturbing when you call father that he be involved in the proposed me about something and I don’t have that task force inspired by his son’s death. information,” Browning said. Grandinette said he received no response. The police department cited the ongo- The report also recommended that ing litigation in denying Newsday an in- the police department improve screening terview with any officials about the Fran- so that officers are aware of an arrestee’s qui case, but said in an emailed statement past suicidal or psychiatric behavior; that that it “continues to implement and main- precincts employ “detention attendants” tain the best police practices” in ensur-

8 | Newsday The 7th precinct vs. Jack Franqui

ing the safety of arrestees and had made and booked Franqui. The records do not changes in mental health screening, pris- specify the charges against the officers or oner monitoring and training. whether any discipline was administered. The grand jury reports also noted that In its statement, which did not name any some changes had already been imple- officers, the SCPD said that the adjudica- mented in the immediate wake of Fran- tion of discipline was “still pending.” qui’s death. Steel doors to cellblocks are O’Reilly’s attorney, Davis, said that his now operated by a key card that tracks client had not been disciplined and that which officer is checking on prisoners, he did not expect any discipline to be and how often. And officers must now meted out until the conclusion of the civil keep their precinct’s intercom in the “on” action by Franqui’s family. position so that a prisoner’s screams for The special grand jury recommend- help can be heard. ed Simeone’s “removal or disciplinary Although not requested by the grand action as prescribed by law.” In January jury, the officers’ television has been re- 2015, Spota wrote in a letter to then-SCPD moved from the Seventh Precinct. Commissioner Edward Webber that it was his “recommendation and hope” that the ourt records show that Simeone department fire Simeone and implement was not interviewed by the de- the special grand jury’s recommendations Cpartment’s Internal Affairs Bureau “so that another tragedy is prevented.” until July 2014, nearly a year and a half af- Simeone, who earned $168,344 in 2014, ter Franqui’s suicide. has not been fired in connection with The records reveal that administrative Franqui’s death. He has been transferred charges were filed against at least three of- to the police department’s Yaphank-based ficers: Simeone, Sgt. O’Reilly, and Lt. John property bureau, where he is responsible McHugh, who oversaw the previous shift for evidence.

LONG ISLAND A15

SEVENTH PRECINCTSTATION CELL 3 CELL 2 CELL 1

FRONT 1 DESK 2

5 4

8CELLS 3 7 VIDEOCAMERAS 6 1. Front Desk 2. Video Monitors 3. Male OfficersJoseph The front desk has 16 holding cells Simeone and George video monitorsshow- The male holding Olivamanned the ing footageofthe cells whereFranqui front desk at the time cellblockswhere waslocked up are 4. Male Cell 1 5. Male Cell 3 6. Video camera 7. Video camera of the suicide.Di- prisonersare kept. situated 70 feet from Franqui waslocked in Sexoffender John on Franqui’s cell on Burke’s cell rectly behind their Though an intercom the front desk. Male Cell 1at2:25 Burkewas locked in According to Burke, Burketestified that desk wasthat of wasinstalled, during p.m. Male Cell 3roughly he and Franqui could as Franqui hung from supervisor on duty, Franqui’s death the 20 minutes after seeeach other apair of jeans,Burke Sgt. Kevin O’Reilly. sound wasmuted Franqui waslocked through reflections in facedacamera, and the officers’ up. asecuritycamera pointed toward television audio was encasement. Franqui’s cell, and turned up. screamed forhelp. as interested onlyin“the then Ihavetorest,” Simeone from him.” vision or send himtoahospi- arena of futureretirement said in adeposition forhis law- Simeone did not tell the talafter the T- shirt incident planning.” suit, which wasultimately dis- homicide detectivesabout the was“afatal mistake” thatled Theevaluation stated that missed beforetrial. “After blanket incident, which oc- to Franqui’s death. Simeone’s “performance putting in an eight-hour day, curred beforeBurke was Both Simeone and O’Reilly began to deteriorate” in 1988, I’m exhausted.” locked up in the cellblock. refused to answerquestions his seventh year on the job.In Simeone’s limited duty sta- Simeone’s supervisor, when subpoenaed by the com- yearssince, asupervisor re- tus allowedhim to carry agun O’Reilly, also said he hadnot mission, invoking their Fifth ported problems motivating butnot have anyphysical con- been told aboutthe blanket. Amendment right to not in- Simeone,who “purportedlyin- tact with suspects. Neverthe- Simeone acknowledged to criminate themselves. curred aback injury” when he less, the department stationed 9 | Newsday the grand jury that“anytime AttorneyBrian J. Davis, fell outofhis chair at apolice him since2000 at the Seventh yousee somebodydoing whorepresents O’Reilly, de- precinct in 1996. Ayear later, Precinct front desk, wherehis something by the bars,that’s fended his client’s actions on Simeone hadaheart attack duties included checking on ared flag, youtakealook.” the dayofFranqui’s death by and wasplaced on permanent prisonersinthe cellblock. ButSimeone testified he did noting his inexperienceasa limited duty. Special grand jury testi- not believe confiscating Fran- supervisor.

Thedeputy inspector’s eval- monycalled intoquestion Z qui’s blanket wasasignifi- “Therewerecertain things

uation concluded that the offi- whether Simeone hadbeen BET cant event of the sort that procedurallythat he hadnever cer“seems to be lacking those making those checks. Simeone ED would merit action. been trained in,” Davis said in qualities we expect of poten- kept an activitylog indicating Officer Joseph Simeone wason Sgt. O’Reillydisagreed, testi- arecent interview, adding that tial supervisors,” including thatfrom3p.m. through 5p.m. dutythe night of the suicide. fying beforethe special grand the lack of training was“not “interest in one’s career,needs during Franqui’s time locked jury thatifhehad known his fault.” of the public, development of up,hehad checked on him log.” aboutthe blanket incident ne subordinatesand attainment every half-hour,asrequired. Though the homicide detec- when officers later removed ws da

of Department goals and objec- However, the log showedno tivesdid not noteitintheir re- the T- shirt from Franqui’s cell, aceLaw Professor Gersh- y. tives.” inspection until 5:40,when it port, their investigation uncov- he would have putthe pris- man reviewedspecial co P m Though Simeone called the is notedthatFranqui’s T- shirt ered recordingsoftwo oner under one-on-one super- grand jury reports and other

evaluation “untruthful,” he ac- wasconfiscated. precinct phone calls in which vision. “Franqui’s suicide documents detailing Franqui’s NEW knowledged under oath that Theofficer acknowledged Simeone could be heardspeak- would not have occurred and suicide at Newsday’s request. he haddifficultywith such during his special grand jury ing aboutablanket thathad waspreventable,” aspecial Theformer prosecutorsaid SD AY

physical activityaswalking testimonythathis log may also been confiscatedfrom grand jury report stated. criminal chargesagainst Sime- ,M through amall, washing his have been inaccurate. Franqui. TheCommission on Correc- one and other officers could OND car,vacuuming arug or “Simeone wasreluctant to “Hewas tying the blanket,” tion, which completed its own have included conspiracy,offi- traversing aflight of stairs. A stateduring his testimonythat Simeone said. “That’s why report on Franqui’s death in cial misconduct, filing afalse AY phone call to his desk at the the inspections were actually we don’t give them blankets. September,agreed with the instrument, tampering with ev- ,D EC

precinct onceaggravated him occurring at the recorded Idon’t knowwhy theygive special grand jury’s findings idence, obstructing govern- EMBER so badlythathesufferedan times,” aspecial grand jury re- them blankets.” At another butfound thatSimeone was mental administration and per- angina attack and hadtocall port stated. “Headmitteddur- point he could be heardsay- not the onlyofficer at fault. jury. his wifetotakehim home, ing his testimonythat some of ing “tying ablanket ...to Thecommission also stated Retired TouroProfessor 21, Simeone testified. the inspections maynot have the bars”and stating that thatO’Reilly’s failuretoput 20 “Mybatteries run lowand occurred as writtenonthe “wetook the blanket away Franqui under isolatedsuper- See FRANQUI on A16 15