NYPD probes ‘cyberbullying’ over cop romances at B’klyn precinct
There were wagging tongues, wild rumors and worse inside Brooklyn’s 78th Precinct over the alleged romantic entanglement of three NYPD colleagues.
A cyberbullying campaign in the Park Slope precinct targeted the male commanding officer, a female detective and a female officer, the trio facing online attacks replete with crude sexual comments, doctored photographs and unfounded allegations of a steamy love triangle, police sources said.
While the department has now launched an investigation, one of the cops already denounced the anonymous innuendo in a scathing Instagram rebuttal.
“NONE OF WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD IS TRUE,” wrote Detective Ileen Estevez, who used to date Capt. Frantz Souffrant. “No love triangle whatsoever. The officers in this department will humiliate and try and ruin lives and relationships just for a laugh, then turn around and say WE FAMILY.
“Luckily for me I’m mentally strong. But what about the next person? What if the next person you do this to isn’t? Will you be able to live with that? STRESS AND DEPRESSION is REAL on this job and our actions can break someone already going through something.”
Precinct commander Souffrant alerted department superiors about the online attacks after ending his relationship with Estevez, police sources said. The pair, along with Officer Noemi Sierra, were stripped of their guns and referred to the NYPD’s medical division on Tuesday over concerns about fallout from the cyber-chatter, department sources told the Daily News.
A photo of Sierra riding in a car alongside Souffrant was posted online, suggesting she was involved in a sexual relationship with the captain after his break-up with Estevez, while another post suggested the precinct was rampant with sexual hookups.
“Are you one of the 78 cops that just had a baby with a fellow 78 cop?” asked the second poster. “This precinct produces more babies than it does arrests. Maybe if cops focused more on their work and less on sleeping with each other Park Slope would be safer.”
According to NYPD sources, Souffrant’s concerns peaked when he saw videos and other online posts involving him, Estevez and Sierra.
“There was commentary attached to the videos that made him feel uncomfortable for all parties involved,” an internal NYPD report says. Police said the bullying accusations are under investigation.
Estevez’s weapon was returned Thursday and she remains on full duty. Her Instagram post also thanked her supporters and flashed a middle finger emoji “to those that continue to share fake stories and memes.”
Sierra, who is engaged, was mocked for being the captain’s new girlfriend after his breakup with Estevez though the pair have no romantic relationship, according to a source familiar with the incident.
The police source also said Souffrant and Estevez, both single, started dating last summer and ended the relationship last month because they became objects of departmental derision. Flyers were posted throughout the stationhouse mocking their relationship and accusing the captain of violating department rules of fraternization.
Estevez, however, was assigned to the detective bureau and was not under the captain’s supervision.
The department’s move was cautionary, sources said — done to avoid the possible repeat of an Oct. 13, 2021, shooting in Bensonhurst in which off-duty Officer Yvonne Wu was accused of wounding her former girlfriend, Jenny Li, 23, and killing Li’s new love interest, Jamie Liang, 24.
Liang’s family in a lawsuit has accused the NYPD of letting Wu keep her gun even though the department was aware of her distressed emotional state.
Souffrant, Estevez and Sierra did not respond to a request for comment.
Lawyer Fred Lichtmacher said he believes the NYPD has been out to get Estevez since she filed a complaint in 2019, alleging she was the victim of alleged racist and sexist treatment while assigned to the 66th Precinct detective squad.
“It’s amazing how the NYPD intentionally allows bad members to go after good members,” said Lichtmacher, who represented Estevez. “She’s a major detective with a history of successful arrests. And all of this makes you and me less safe.” Estevez’s case against the city and the police department is pending.
Souffrant, 41, joined the NYPD in 2005 and is on military leave. It’s not clear how the department’s actions affect his service with the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Army Reserves, for whom he did a promotional video when he was a lieutenant.
Estevez, 42, is a 16-year veteran, and Sierra, 43, is an 11-year veteran. Unions representing the cops did not respond to requests for comment.