By Ashley Southhall, nytimes.com
A lieutenant with the New York Police Department who oversaw the arrest of an on-duty mail carrier in Brooklyn has been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on administrative duty.
The police commissioner, William J. Bratton, said on Friday that Lt. Luis D. Machado would remain in the modified assignment until the internal investigation of the episode is completed. The three other officers involved — Lazo Lluka, Miguel I. Rodriguez and David G. Savella — were still being questioned by the Internal Affairs Bureau, he said.
“Once I have their findings, if you will, we’ll see what action, if necessary, needs to be taken,” Mr. Bratton said.
All four officers belonged to the Police Department’s Conditions Unit, a neighborhood-based troubleshooting division, and have been reassigned to patrols.
The case generated attention after a cellphone recording of the March 17 arrest was released last week by the office of Eric L. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president . Glen Grays, a 27-year-old African-American mail carrier, was making his rounds in Crown Heights when he was taken into custody, leaving his mail truck unattended.
Lieutenant Machado appears in the video wearing a backward baseball cap and a black vest as he stands a few feet from Mr. Grays. The mail carrier is holding a box as two other officers in plain clothes approach him outside a building with a red door. The officers handcuff and frisk Mr. Grays before escorting him past his postal truck to a black police cruiser.
Mr. Gray was issued a summons for disorderly conduct. He is scheduled to appear in court in May. He has called for the officers to face disciplinary action, but said he did not want them to lose their jobs.
Lt. Louis Turco, the president of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, said his organization was monitoring the case.
“We’re going to wait for all the facts to come out,” he said. “And then we’re going to vigorously defend our member.”
A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he is keeping tabs on the police inquiry. The Postal Service’s office of inspector general is investigating whether any federal laws were violated.
