Tattered blue
Racial tension cited by B’klyn cops
A WHITE NYPD sergeant says he wouldn’t go along with the harassment of a black officer — and now he claims that he’s being subjected to harsh treatment for his refusals.
Valentin Khazin’s Brooklyn federal lawsuit argues that he was targeted with unjustified payback because he wouldn’t help make life miserable for Officer Dana Harge — who’s got his own pending federal suit alleging racial discrimination in the elite Highway Patrol unit.
Since Khazin wouldn’t play ball, he claims his own life is being made miserable. He said he’s seen his overtime slashed — but then become swamped with extra work, especially during holidays, to keep him away from his family.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Khazin, 32, told the Daily News.
Harge was doing his job, said Khazin, who is white. And when the sergeant brought it up that he felt superiors had it out for Harge because of his discrimination complaints, Khazin said he “signed my own death warrant.”
This past Father’s Day, the 32-year-old father of children ages 1 and 2, said he was kept on duty almost 24 hours because there allegedly weren’t others to help out.
Eric Sanders, Khazin’s lawyer, said what happened to his client is an example of what happens to people who don’t go along to get along.
Khazin was “one of the few people not afraid to take on the department and sue them. I hear about this stuff all time. It’s just a matter of anyone taking any action,” said Sanders.
Starting in 2015, Khazin said brass told him to keep an eye on Harge, who they had deemed a “do nothing.”
Khazin kept his eye on Harge and discovered “all he does is his job. He does it as well as anyone else.”
Khazin said his first sin was authorizing Harge’s request for a day off so Harge could be at his kid’s first Little League game.
“They started really down on me,” Khazin said.
The NYPD referred The News to the Law Department for comment.
“We will review the complaint and investigate these allegations,” a Law Department spokesman said. coming