2 Other Officers Disciplined In Fatal Alleged DWI Crash Involving Off-Duty Cop In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Two NYPD officers have been placed on modified duty in connection with a fatal drunken driving crash involving a third officer when he was off duty.
Police sources said the officers – who were with Officer Nicholas Batka while also off duty prior to the crash early this past Saturday – were stripped of their guns and shields. Sources did not identify the officers.
The officers who were disciplined were not with Batka at the time of the crash, and were not involved in the crash, sources said.
They were placed on modified duty "for the good of the department," sources said.
Batka, 28, was arrested earlier this month on charges including manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated after authorities said his sport-utility vehicle struck four pedestrians on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, killing one of them.
The three other victims, all in their 20s, were sent to the hospital in critical condition. Andrew Esquivel, 21, was pronounced dead following the crash.
Police say Batka had worked in the department's Manhattan transit bureau for 1 1/2 years and has been suspended.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said photos of Batka posing with alcohol on his Facebook page were clear indicators the officer had a substance abuse problem, WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported on Monday. Adams believes the deadly drunk driving accident could have been prevented if Batka had received help from the POPPA program, which provides support to law enforcement officers battling addiction.
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