Boss ‘hates’ me
Cop stripped of shield after assault claim
An NYPD detective says she was ordered to hand over her gun and shield and take a pysch test after she reported an alleged assault at the hands of her boss in the department’s Hate Crimes Unit.
Detective Nela Gomez, 38, claims a lieutenant went on a foul-mouthed tirade and slammed his office door on her, knocking her to the ground inside the squad’s office in One Police Plaza on Aug. 31.
The 13-year veteran told the Daily News that she popped in to work on a subpoena for evidence in the case of a swastikas spraypainted on FDNY ambulances in Washington Heights and found her boss, Lt. Robert Delaney in a bad mood.
“While I was in the office, (Delaney) starts yelling, ‘Where are you going? You’re not going anywhere! Overtime is going to be done here!’” Gomez said.
When she tried to explain what she was doing, Gomez claims Delaney ordered her into his office. “He’s yelling louder in my face. He’s 6foot-2. I’m 5-foot-7,” she said. “It’s jibberish. He’s yelling at me without any substance. He’s saying, ‘I’m f------ done with you! This is f-----over!”
Gomez says she asked what she did wrong and Delaney, 51, told her to leave. As she made her way out of the room, Gomez alleges Delaney slammed the door very hard and she was clipped by the edge.
“I was sent flying to the floor,” she said. “I’m sitting on the floor crying hysterically.”
Delaney immediately called the Hate Crimes commander, Inspector Mark Molinari, according to Gomez. “She’s saying I hit her with the door and she’s crying; you know what that is,” Delaney said, Gomez told The News.’
Afterward, Gomez says she interviewed by Captain Thomas Kamper from Manhattan South Inspections, who she claims told her she couldn’t file a criminal complaint against Delaney — which is not true. Kamper did not return a call requesting comment.
If her boss was an average guy on the street, he would have been busted, Gomez said.
“An arrest would be made, especially with injuries, and then it would be up to the courts,” the cop said. “It’s seems like they are protecting this lieutenant.”
“Why do the rules change because he’s a cop?” Gomez told the Daily News. “We’re supposed to uphold the law and this is what they do and they wonder why people don’t trust cops?”
Both Gomez and Delaney filed complaints with Internal Affairs that night.
Gomez was stripped of her weapon and shield, placed on desk duty and ordered to go a psychological evaluation. After she passed the psych test, she says she was restored to full duty and transferred to Manhattan Special Victims.
Nothing happened to Delaney.
Lou Turco, president of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, sharply rebuffed Gomez’s account.
“The door was never slammed to cause the force to hit her with the door,” he said. “The lieutenant’s account is backed up by two independent witnesses.”
Turco also said Gomez initiated the dust up.
“She was given a lawful order to stay in the office and work on the subpoena,” he said. “She became irate because she thought she needed to go to the scene. We’re adamant that no injury was caused by any door hitting her.”
What happened to her, Gomez says, once again illustrates a double standard in the NYPD when it comes to discipline as highlighted in a series of articles in The News this year.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill appointed a three-person panel in June to investigate the system in response to The News’ series.
Gomez, who was the lone woman detective in the unit, says hate crimes is so riddled with sexism that any woman assigned there quickly transfer out because of the toxic environment.
“I was told ‘When you get your period, you better not be a b----,” Gomez said. “I always wondered why women would go there and leave after a few months and now I know. It’s clear they don’t want women in that unit.”
A police spokesman said, “This case is subject to ongoing and active internal investigation.” He declined to comment further.