FLASHED MORE THAN A BADGE
Cop exposed self to Bible-school kids: DA
A perverted Bronx cop exposed himself to two young sisters on their way to Bible school — just a few years after beating similar charges at an NYPD trial, authorities said Tuesday.
Officer Adam Fridson, a 43-yearold married dad of two, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly flashing the siblings — one of whom is the same age as one of his kids.
“The entire incident is caught on videotape,” prosecutor Allison Riesel said at Fridson’s arraignment. “[Fridson] pulled over. He was caught on video unzipping his fly and removing his penis before approaching the two young girls.”
It wasn’t the first time the cop has been accused of indecent exposure involving a minor.
“A similar allegation has been made against this defendant in the past, and the department is investigating,’’ Riesel added, in apparent reference to a 2011 incident in which Fridson was accused of exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl at a Westchester County Costco.
The cop was placed on modified duty at the time and was put on an NYPD trial, where he was found not guilty, according to law-enforcement sources. He was never criminally charged because the girl’s mom didn’t want to press charges, sources noted.
But a source said the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is now going back and looking at the old case, as well as any other potential red flags in the officer’s past.
Fridson, a 12-year department veteran, had just gotten off his job at the Bronx Housing Authority when he allegedly committed the more recent act.
He was captured on the surveillance footage stepping out of a Subaru before approaching the girls, ages 7 and 12, on East Tremont Avenue near Barkley Avenue in Schuylerville at about 4:10 p.m. on Oct. 11, according to authorities.
The cop was easy to recognize — he was wearing a black T-shirt with a logo of Jack Skellington, the main character from the animated flick “The Nightmare Before Christmas” — at the time, authorities said.
He exposed himself to the two young victims while asking them for directions to McDonald’s, according to police. He then fled.
The girls later picked him out of a photo array, authorities said.
Several police officers — including cops from Fridson’s own command — recognized him from surveillance pictures, according to law-enforcement sources.
Fridson, a Yonkers native, was collared in lower Manhattan at about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.
He was charged with two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child, two counts of lewdness and two counts of exposure.
The officer, who has a son and daughter, ages 11 and 12, was suspended without pay as IAB investigates, police said.
In addition to the 2011 allegation against him, Fridson has a record dating back to 1991, according to the Westchester DA.
He pleaded guilty to an unspecified charge that year and a fine was imposed, and he had another run-in with the law two years later, although the details of that case are sealed.
In 1996, he also pleaded guilty in Yorktown to attempted criminal mischief with intent to damage property.
As for why Fridson was allowed to remain on the beat after the 2011 allegation, “You’re innocent until convicted,” a source noted. “Everybody’s entitled to that, whether you’re cop or not.
“You know how many cops get accused of crimes?” the source added. “You can’t fire them because they’re accused.”
Fridson raked in a total of $107,781 in pay last year, according to data posted by SeeThroughNY.
He remained silent during his arraignment while uncuffed and dressed in a black jacket and dark shirt and pants.
Prosecutors asked for $10,000 bail before Bronx Judge Patsy Gouldborne set it at $5,000. Fridson made bail and was released in the afternoon, officials said.
His sister, Michelle, was visibly shaken when she learned of her brother’s arrest.
“That’s crazy. Are you kidding me? I need a cigarette. Oh, my God, why’d he do that?” she said. “My brother has a perfect life, like in a Lifetime movie . . . This is crazy. If he’s guilty, then he deserves to be punished.” Additional reporting by Alex Taylor and Georgett Roberts