After Liang Conviction, NYPD to Pair Rookie Cops with Experienced Officer

Former NYPD officer Marc Calcano knows first hand the inherent dangers of conducting vertical patrols. For 5 years, Calcano patrolled stairwells on the Upper West Side and Harlem, trying to stop criminal activity.

"You can't see what's behind the wall, you can't see what's above," he explained as he walked the I-team through what a vertical patrol would entail.

Convicted former NYPD officer Peter Liang was conducting a vertical patrol the night his gun went off in a dark stairwell. Prosecutors say the bullet ricocheted off a wall and into Akai Gurley. The young man and father was killed.

The conviction has the heads of police unions warning this will have a chilling effect on policing. Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, has called on Commissioner Bratton to suspend vertical patrol.

"Until we find a better way and safer way, and one that the community understands, but also allows police officers to do their job in a safe manner," Mullins said.

The NYPD and Mayor de Blasio argue that vertical patrols are essential to safety in public housing.

"But we have to work constantly to do them the right way," said de Blasio.

Peter Liang became an officer in June 2013, which likely meant there was one training officer for about a dozen rookies. Peter Moreno, a former NYPD captain who used to train new officers, says one-on-one instruction with a more experienced officer is invaluable.

"I think no matter how good the academy training will be, nothing replicates actually doing it," said Moreno. "Each officer handles that differently and needs different amounts of training and coaching."

The NYPD says they have been gradually shifting away from the old model of police training.

Now new officers are assigned two at a time to work with a more experienced field training officer. Inspector Richard Dee, executive officer of the NYPD Police Academy, explained to the I-team that they have trained over 800 field training officers.

"They are solely dedicated to mentor and train new recruits when they graduate from the police academy.”

Better training is welcomed by Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, who believes the Liang verdict will greatly impact the way officers do their jobs.

"It was a terribly tragic accident, we aren't looking to lessen the death," said Lynch. "But it's also a terrible tragedy for this officer."

During the trial, Liang and his partner said they did not really learn CPR in the academy even though they were certified. Some current officers who were cadets at around the same time as Liang have said they remember being given the questions to the test before they took the CPR exam. The NYPD says it is investigating those claims.

While many professions require CPR recertification, the NYPD does not. Officials say officers are required to take a refresher course every two years, but they are not required to be recertified.

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