Drunk Police Sergeant Mows Down Pedestrian

NYPD silent as 15-yr. veteran police sgt. charged with mowing down pedestrian while driving drunk

The New York Daily News by SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM, KENNY PORPORA AND BILL HUTCHINSON  - July 8, 2009

An NYPD Sergeant has been quietly charged with driving drunk and mowing down an upper East Side man who had just picked up his morning coffee, the Daily News has learned. Sgt. Joseph Spiekerman, 43, was arrested following the June29 crash in which he hit Barry Gintel, 68, after running a red light at York Ave. and E. 86th St., court records reveal. Gintel - vice president of the Fire Bell Club of New York, a group of Fire Department buffs - was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. He underwent emergency surgery for two fractured legs, broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and head and neck injuries. Contacted in his hospital room, Gintel, who was wearing a neck brace, declined to comment. "He doesn't remember too much. His biggest concern is getting out of that bed, and he wants to walk," said Joseph Higgins, president of the Fire Bell Club.

Police officials declined to explain why they failed to release details of the crash and Spiekerman's arrest sooner. The crash occurred at 6:40a.m. near The Mansion diner, right after Gintel had bought a large coffee and two buttered rolls. "I give him his change, look out the window, and I see he got hit and goes flying 10, maybe 20 feet in the air," said Leticia Guerrero, 24, a cashier. Guerrero said the impact shattered the windshield of Spiekerman's silver Volvo. The cop got out and tried to help Gintel, who lives about a block away. Spiekerman was charged with felony vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated. He was arrested after officers responding to the accident noticed his bloodshot eyes and smelled booze on his breath, according to records. A 15-year NYPD veteran, Spiekerman admitted drinking, records say. A lawyer for his police union said an investigation into the crash still "needs to be completed."  Spiekerman, a union delegate for the Sergeants Benevolent Association, refused to take a breath test, forcing cops to get a court order to draw his blood. The sergeant, assigned to the PSA 7 housing precinct in the Bronx, has been suspended without pay, officials said. With Melissa Grace and Alison Gendar  -  simonew@nydailynews.com