Bravest may get heat from brawl
Four respected FDNY officers may get caught in the fallout from the brutal bare-knuckled Bronx brawl earlier this summer that got eight firefighters suspended.
All four officers attended a Medal Day celebration at Billy’s Bar near Yankee Stadium on June 6. They were captured on surveillance videotape outside the establishment, where a racial slur sparked a boozy beat down among the Bravest.
Deputy Assistant Chief John Esposito, Deputy Chief Joseph Cunningham and Battalion Chief Malcolm Moore had piled into a van carrying several other officers, sources told the Daily News. Deputy Chief James Brosi was outside but not in the van, the sources said.
A source close to the officers insisted they had left the scene before the drunken melee broke out between smoke eaters from Engine 68, Ladder 49, Ladder 44 and Rescue 3.
But others said the timeline on the video wasn’t clear — suggesting the officers skedaddled at the start of the brawl. They also didn’t file any reports of the discord with higher-ups, which FDNY regulations demand, sources said.
The Department of Investigation is probing the fight, which got so wild inside the bar that Billy’s bouncers doused a firefighter with pepper spray to calm things down. The violence later spilled out into the street, where the officers — among many others — were captured on surveillance videotape.
Later that night, another smackdown occurred when inflamed firefighters went seeking retribution at one of the firehouses — resulting in a brutal beating for one Bravest.
DOI declined to comment, as did the FDNY, both citing the ongoing investigation.