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Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. reflects on criminal charges after a city investigation found that the NYPD inspector who was leading the security details of Mayor Bill de Blasio “had actively hindered and sought to thwart “the investigation.
Inspector Howard Redmond – who oversees the Police Department’s Executive Protection Unit, responsible for the mayor’s security – is reportedly facing obstruction charges, the investigative department commissioner said Thursday, Margaret Garnett.
“Inspector Redmond’s conduct has been referred to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal prosecution,” she told reporters at a press conference after the scathing report was released. “The criminal case we found in the investigation was… the charge of potential obstruction.”
In the 49-page report on de Blasio and his use of security details, it was found that Redmond had blocked DOI investigators, refusing to hand over his phone for months until his supervisor ordered him to do so. .
“The DOI concluded that the NYPD inspector in charge of the security details of the First Family actively obstructed and sought to thwart this investigation, frustrating the DOI’s efforts to find out all the facts regarding these allegations,” it reads. part of the investigation, published Thursday morning.
In Redmond’s efforts, he attempted to clean up the evidence, among other actions, by destroying his phone, according to the investigation.
A former NYPD detective told the DOI that Inspector Redmond asked UPR members assigned to the mayor and his family to contact city hall resources to prevent the NYPD from gaining access to the communications of the mayor and his family. ‘UPR on’ emptying ‘NYPD phones and emails during investigations, “the report read.
“The DOI’s review of Inspector Redmond’s previous phone communications from the NYPD revealed that the first substantial text message remaining there was dated July 29, 2021, after Redmond was told he had to hand over his phone. NYPD for production at DOI and the date it has instead, decided to return the phone for destruction under the pretext of receiving an upgraded device.
Redmond is the only person named in the damning report to be the subject of a criminal investigation, Garnett said.
“We made no criminal reference to anyone other than Redmond,” she said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has confirmed the sharing of evidence.
“We’re looking at the benchmark,” spokesman Danny Frost told The Post.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Rosenberg
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