Need some help from a 1970s NYPD officer or NYC attorney

hkcavalier

hkcavalier

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I'm working on a creative project for a master's program. Part of the story is a character, a very famous woman (fictional), who gets picked up for being drunk and disorderly and slaps the cop while detained. Story takes place in the early '70s in Manhattan.

What would be the maximum sentence? No priors. In the story, she gets probation + time served and rehab. Is this plausible?

I figured this forum would be a good place to start with all the LEOs in here.
 
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Would like to read your story. The lady committed simple assault and was guilty of public intoxication, both simple misdemeanors. She was probably looking at a lecture and two $60.00 fines plus court costs. In Iowa, at least, the court can’t order you into rehab. So that’s a stretch. Especially for minor offenses. Dave (Iowa atty)
 
Ok. I guess I assumed striking a police officer during a stop / while detained is pretty much automatically assaulting a police officer.
 
Not a NYC LEO, but knew several that retired in the 70s. If the cop was an older man, I can't imagine any that would not retaliate physically. The guys that started post WWII loved their blackjacks.

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Pretty sure it'd depend on some factors banned on this board, but including how liberal the judge was, who her lawyer was, and who she was.

And, probably, on how badly injured the officer was.

If you've seen how TV handles NYPD cases, you should see how to slant the story to provide a reasonable case for however you want the plot to go. I think there's enough plausible creative ground to give you a reasonable range of solutions.

I'm a published writer, myself, and I ran this past myself to see what I'd do. I think you have some creative "slack" to work with.

Keep in mind that the judge may be a pal of her lawyer. Is she a celeb that the mayor told the court to handle with kid gloves? Etc. ...

BTW, I just read Wilbur Smith's autobio, "On Leopard Rock", which tells how he has succeeded as a major author. I suggest that you read that. Your library may have it.

And if you read enough mysteries, you'll be prepared for probable solutions. Read books like you'd want to write!
 
bigwheelzip said:
Not a NYC LEO, but knew several that retired in the 70s. If the cop was an older man, I can't imagine any that would not retaliate physically. The guys that started post WWII loved their blackjacks.

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Keep in mind that he said this woman is a celebrity.

If the cop struck a female celeb with a blackjack, how is that likely to end, especially in NYC?
 
Texas Star said:
Keep in mind that he said this woman is a celebrity.



If the cop struck a female celeb with a blackjack, how is that likely to end, especially in NYC?
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Listening to older NYC cops talk off duty, back in the 60s and 70s, it was hard to believe their stories of brutality. Maybe it was embelished bluster, but one type of theme got repeated. If you raised your hand to them, you got a lesson in respect.
I don't think celebrity gets as much deference there as it does in places like Los Angeles.

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Oh she definitely eats some Manhattan pavement when she gets cuffed. She's trying to disguise herself, so the officer doesn't know who she is at the time anyway.

Texas Star, this is for a shorter story so delving into a ton of police and court procedure is not what I'm looking to do. It's a part of the character's growth, to hit rock bottom, then come back. I just don't want someone with any knowledge of law and punishment to scoff and say, "No way that would ever happen!"

I'll look into the Wilbur Smith book. I'm in an MFA program, they definitely require a lot of reading already, but I'm always looking for other sources to get an edge up, both for myself and compared to my fellow grad students.
 
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Just an opinion reference based on my observations of a small sample of LEOs. While the regular NYPD could be tough in the 70s. Cops from the Housing, and the Transit divisions seemed to have worse attitudes toward civilians. While Housing dealt with the Projects, Transit interacted with everyone who used mass transit.
I don't know if those distinct divisions still exist.

Also, NYC Corrections had a reputation, but civilians only saw that off-duty.
 
Somewhat off topic. Growing up in the Bronx during that time in the “projects”, we saw a lot of police “activity”. :) Being a large development spread out over many acres with roads intersecting, we had “Housing” or HPD cops patrolling the grounds, rooftops and stairwells. Stairwells being the most treacherous, ask any cop who walked them.
We knew all the HPD cops and had names for all of them. One we called Maury Wills because he looked like him and could not be outrun. :eek:
NYPD patrolled the roads surrounding and intersecting the projects. If they picked you up and took you for a “ride”, you wouldn’t be seen for awhile. You sorta got “tuned up” in the back seat so to speak.:D I saw this alot with the older guys in the hood.
Then there were the “bulls” as we called them, the plainclothes cops. The projects and surrounding areas were drug havens.
I played basketball everyday in the park across the street and saw them line up for “next”. It was funny how a bunch of older guys not from the projects would show up in masse once in awhile. ;) We knew who they were, they all had thick wallets. :rolleyes: ;)
 
How good looking is she supposed to be? Knowing my friends that were on the job in Manhattan in those days, it would have made a big difference. There was no Me Too movement in those days.

Bob
 
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hkcavalier said:
I'm working on a creative project for a master's program. Part of the story is a character, a very famous woman (fictional), who gets picked up for being drunk and disorderly and slaps the cop while detained. Story takes place in the early '70s in Manhattan.

What would be the maximum sentence? No priors. In the story, she gets probation + time served and rehab. Is this plausible?

I figured this forum would be a good place to start with all the LEOs in here.
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In 1991 a Virginia Doctor's defense for DUI and assault on a police officer was PMS. She won!
 
There is no "drunk and disorderly" in New York and no cop would use that phrase.

She could be arrested for Disorderly Conduct ("dis con"), a violation, but generally would not be. For that she would most often receive a criminal summons which would require her to appear in court at a later date. In many cases that would be issued right on the street, like a traffic ticket. She could also be brought in to the station house and released with a summons.

If she was too drunk to care for herself, she would likely be sent to the hospital as an aided intox, sometimes with that summons in her pocket, most often not. You're really not supposed to summons a drunk. Drunks are generally not arrested in NYC because nobody wants to be stuck with them. It does happen, a lot, but not if it can be avoided. There would usually need to be another reason (criminal offense) for a custodial arrest.

If she simply "slapped" a cop, that would be Harassment, a violation. You say she did this "while detained." I'm not sure what that means.

If she slapped a cop after being arrested, while being printed, for example, she would probably get some wall to wall counseling and that would be the end of it, no additional charges. By then they would know who she was anyway.

If she did it on the street, she likely would get knocked down and then arrested. In that case, today she'd catch an Assault 2 charge. In the '70s? Probably Assault 3. In either case, a Resisting Arrest as well.

And yes, your outcome is reasonable.

In the '70s she'd be unlikely to get mandatory rehab, especially as a celebrity. Today she'd probably receive an ACOD which is an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, that is: don't get collared for the same thing for six months or a year (whatever the judge decides) and the whole thing will be wiped away.

Anyway, that's off the top of my head.
 
In keeping with your “rock bottom “ needs, perhaps she strikes a car or a child while driving drunk. That brings rehab and self-analysis into play.
 
Well, I am no expert on NYC LEO back in the 70's. BUT, as 14 / 15 year old kids, back in the mid-70's, we used to take the Greyhound Bus from CT to Manhattan once in awhile, just to walk around and see the sights around times square....

I cant imagine any 70's NYC cop worrying about some woman having to much to drink. Most cops I seen back then in NYC were running somewhere, with their hand on their gun..

Larry
 
I think this very thing happened in California many years back.
IIRC...one of the Gabor's sister's slapped a Trooper during
a traffic stop. Don't recall the outcome. There was a courtcase..
 
bigwheelzip said:
Just an opinion reference based on my observations of a small sample of LEOs. While the regular NYPD could be tough in the 70s. Cops from the Housing, and the Transit divisions seemed to have worse attitudes toward civilians. While Housing dealt with the Projects, Transit interacted with everyone who used mass transit.
I don't know if those distinct divisions still exist.

Also, NYC Corrections had a reputation, but civilians only saw that off-duty.
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Non LEOS are citizens not civilians. The LEOS are not the Military even though some may think so, ( just something that annoys me:)) I was a New York citizen before the 70"s.



As to celebrity "status". Back then it didn't mean as much as today with all the news, twitter and hoopla that they get:eek:
 
Rule3 said:
Non LEOS are citizens not civilians. The LEOS are not the Military even though some may think so, ( just something that annoys me:)) I was a New York citizen before the 70"s.



As to celebrity "status". Back then it didn't mean as much as today with all the news, twitter and hoopla that they get:eek:
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Yeah, I thought the "Civilian" title sounded strange when I first heard a NYPD/FDNY employee use it. But with so many friends and family "on the job", after so many decades it sounds normal now.

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bigwheelzip said:
Yeah, I thought the "Civilian" title sounded strange when I first heard a NYPD/FDNY employee use it. But with so many friends and family "on the job", after so many decades it sounds normal now.

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No "biggy" I guess we are all just "subjects" or "Pawns in the Game of Life":D
 
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