Sound & the fury
Cops: Noise rule meant we couldn’t prevent shoot
A 21-YEAR-OLD man paralyzed by a bullet after a shooting outside a wild Queens house party would still be walking if cops hadn’t been handcuffed by new NYPD rules on noise complaints, police sources said.
Cops visited the party on 232nd St. about 11:15 p.m. Saturday after receiving an earlier noise complaint from a neighbor — more than an hour and a half before Rohan Chambers was shot in the spine.
“Had we been allowed to go onto the property, we would have shut down the party, there would have been no shooting and he would not be paralyzed,” said an outraged cop with knowledge of the case.
When police arrived at the party, near Merrick Blvd. in Laurelton, responding officers knocked on the door and asked the homeowner to be a good neighbor and keep the noise down. Then the cops then left.
A directive handed down by Police Commissioner James O’Neill last month prohibits cops from taking further action because they were not given permission to enter the home, the officer said.
“Last year, this party would have been broken up right then and there without a second thought,” the cop said.
About 12:50 a.m, a fight at the party spilled into the street. A man in a red do-rag pulled a gun and fired a round, hitting Chambers in the back, officials said.
Chambers’ relatives, who fear he may be permanently paralyzed, declined to comment on the shooting or how it might have been prevented. Cops have made no arrests. When police arrived on 232nd St., after a neighbor’s earlier noise complaint, there were about 100 people inside the home. But there were no signs of drug use or illegal activity — which would have allowed cops to go into the home. Several people identified themselves as either the homeowner or the party host. All barred cops from entering. According to the O’Neill directive, “warrantless entry” into a home or fenced-in yard “is not authorized solely for the purpose of abating noise conditions.” Once cops get a noise complaint, they must ask permission from the homeowner to go onto the premise to investigate. If a homeowner refuses, cops can offer a warning and return the next day with a summons, according to the new rules.
An NYPD spokeswoman confirmed that two calls were made to 311 about excessive noise on the block before the party, but the complaints were unfounded.
Last month’s directive isn’t new policy, she said, calling it “legal guidance that is provided to NYPD officers annually before the summer months.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union, which has hailed the directive, said the shooting hasn’t changed their opinion.
“When cops suspect violence, they can force their way in, but officers without warrants have no authority to charge into homes simply because of a noise complaint,” said Chris Dunn, NYCLU’s Associate Legal Director.