Manhattan, NY – Traffic Cop Caught Flashing Lights, Speeding To Get Coffee

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    NYC Councilman Daniel Halloran says NYPD Traffic Officer Daniel Chu used his red light and swerved through a Queens neighborhood at high speeds - all in a rush to get a coffee at Dunkin Donuts!Manhattan, NY – A traffic officer is under investigation, accused of acting above the law.

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    It all began when a city councilman allegedly caught the agent doing something extremely illegal: using his flashing red lights, and speeding, to buy coffee!

    It wasn’t a red light camera, but a red-haired councilman who caught traffic agent Daniel Chu red-handed, waltzing out of a Dunkin Donuts the other day with a cup of coffee.

    “He is livid,” City Councilman Daniel Halloran said.

    Chu apparently didn’t like being caught on candid camera, so he whipped out his ticket book and handed the councilman a $165 ticket for what Halloran says are trumped-up charges.

    “He says, ‘you’re going to take pictures of me? Well, I’m going to write you a summons,'” Halloran said.

    But that’s only part of the story. A few minutes earlier, Councilman Halloran decided to follow Chu through the quiet streets of his Whitestone, Queens neighborhood after Chu put on his flashing red lights, as if to rush to an emergency.

    “He was on a cell phone, talking while this was going on,” Halloran said.

    The “emergency” soon became apparent.

    “He was in a rush to get a coffee coolata at Dunkin Donuts, and felt he could blow stop signs, speed, swerve in traffic,” Halloran said.

    Halloran says he couldn’t believe a traffic agent would break so many laws.

    “This guy is running around in a police department vehicle at high rates of speed, careening through a neighborhood, to get to Dunkin Donuts,” Halloran said. “I think there’s a real problem with that.”

    It turns out that Officer Chu has something of a history in the neighborhood. Former NYPD cop Tim Dillon told CBS 2 he was a pallbearer at Gleason’s Funeral Home when Chu showed up.

    “The family was getting ready to transfer the body from the funeral home to the church,” Dillon said. “The traffic agent felt that they were all double-parked. There was a confrontation – he started yelling and screaming at the family members.

    “Traffic Agent Chu had a cigarette in his mouth, screaming at everybody. He took his cigarette and flicked it toward the area of the family and indiscriminately just started scanning the cars up and down, cursing at them, yelling at them,” Dillon said.

    There’s another thing to consider: if a police officer had seen the traffic agent talking on his cell phone, speeding, and blowing through stop signs, it could have netted him 18 points on his license – and after 11 points, your license gets revoked.

    Councilman Halloran is demanding a review of every ticket written by Officer Chu. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the case is under investigation.


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    45 Comments
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    The traffic cop shouldn't be worried....
    The traffic cop shouldn't be worried....
    13 years ago

    The cop will be offered a job as Dunkin’s new spokesman!!!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Dear Councilman, seeing that you are so shocked, I must ask, where did you live all these years? did you move just recently to NYC?

    chvrm buff
    chvrm buff
    13 years ago

    I love this story, we need to stop all these phony L/S in the B area too from all these “wanna be’s” like east midwood

    Investigate them all
    Investigate them all
    13 years ago

    I always see cops running red lights and talking on cell phones. Cops are above the law. At least that’s how most act.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    I know this officer. He gave me a ticket for double parking in brooklyn. I told him that it was antisemetism and he yelled at me to get back into my car. This doesn’t surptise me. I hope they take away his lisense to be a police

    Elie
    Elie
    13 years ago

    It’s about time they crack down on these crooked cops!

    oiberchuchem
    oiberchuchem
    13 years ago

    Why do traffic cops need sirens? They do not respond to emergencies and may not pull you over.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Good morning NYC council members!!! Wake up and smell the coffee! (Pun intended)

    This is what u empowered by going along with Mayor Bloombergs steady empowerment of these arrogant perjuring egomaniacs.

    Had this traffic agent done a “Chila Lati” the councilman wouldve been arrested, faced felony crimminal charges due to the legistlators lockstep cooperation with Fuherer Bloomberg

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Jimmy Justice #2 … Job well done. Get the brownies outta here

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Remember the “good ole days ” when these wannabe cops were known as “brownies” ..it’s our fault we elevated their status to NYPD police .they are nothing more more than lowly summons writers and rude and nasty

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    BH

    They do it ALL the time. I watched them today on 52nd and 13, they were smoking and drinking while sitting at the bus stop waiting for the 10 O’clock shift.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Finally someone putting a stop to this

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    We all know it is true but if the action witnessed is enough to call into question previous tickets written, then watch all that was seen becom not true. NYC will have everybody lie and close their eyes rather than call into question previous tickets.

    The part about the funeral shows that this guy is a bigger jerk than most traffics are.

    lol!!!
    lol!!!
    13 years ago

    I am laughing my head off. this is the best story of the year 😀 I`m lovin it

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Its about time someone is taking this matter to the next level

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Welcome to NYC. It used to be that squeegee men were the #1 quality of life issue. Thankfully Rudy got those guys off the street. Apparently, although not realized by many at the time he hired them to be traffic cops.
    I live in the flatbush area and on Ave. M here on Erev Shabbos or Yom Tov they are out here like vultures. They are obnoxious and rude. I remember once they were giving a guy a ticket on East 12th Street, by the corner of Ave M. They blocked all the traffic for the whole time they were giving a ticket. Now on Erev Yom Tov this is a very busy area, but despite requests from people stuck for 15 minutes because of this they refused to budge. Never mind when they park their car by the crosswalk (making it difficult for my wife to push the stroller safely past) and block the visibility for cars looking to turn and then they give those same cars tickets for not being able to clear the intersection as a result (they can not tell if their is space for them to turn since the visibility is blocked and the only way to see is to enter the intersection).

    jacob
    jacob
    13 years ago

    Fienaly sombody is acting against this scombacks who are braking the law all day for their own leiser and spreding sommance for body accept for them self

    Bareney
    Bareney
    13 years ago

    wow what a wild story I can’t believe that it made it to the media, as if this is the first & only time such behavior by a official vehicle has happened.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    New York’s finest work under extremely stressful conditions. He is entitled to use his very short time for a coffee break as efficiently as possible. In addition to his need for coffee and donuts, this is typically an “asher yatzar” moment for th policeman who spend 8-12 hours in the field on a typical shift.

    not shocked
    not shocked
    13 years ago

    Can Someone tell me why They need Red Lights T o begin with ?
    And why they cause more traffic then ordenary civilians

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    At least someone is stepping up

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Only in nyc are these ticket agents called “police” they happen to work for the city like the sanitation department, who remembers the chocolate coffee…

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    i have seen things like this time after time.
    most recently a week ago on 9th ave in manhattan.
    in order to make a left turn a car must go into the left turn lane , yes thats where i was as i watched a nypd traffic car come from the middle of 9th ave and make a left, jsut coz she could.
    no emergency, no nothing.
    just a blatant disregard of the laws they are hired to enforce.
    practice what you preach i say!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Near the beginning of your article you put the words “He is livid” within quotation marks. That means that City Councilman Daniel Haloran uttered those words. But Halloran did NOT say “He is livid.” Halloran did not use the word “he” to refer to himself. Don’t you know how to use quotation marks? They indicate that these are the EXACT words that came out of Halloran’s mouth, as if we are listening to a tape recording of his voice.

    nice idea
    nice idea
    13 years ago

    what a beautiful commercial for Dunkin Donuts…The world runs on Dunkins!!

    Jimmy Justice
    Jimmy Justice
    13 years ago

    Now this is a councilman that I would vote for !!!

    The traffic cops have been getting away with this for years, while at the same they indiscriminately and obnoxiously write us tickets for petty nonsensical violations.

    I hope more people are inspired to pick up video cameras and fight back.

    Besides for my youtube page showing videos of traffic agents misbehaving, I am currently working on a feature length documentary about this subject

    Oh gosh what a loswer!
    Oh gosh what a loswer!
    13 years ago

    What an Idiot! Especially about the part where family members are mourning the loss of a loved one, but all he is thinking about is a power ride!! Boy…Some of these Police men are such losers!! If only we had more Policemen who really cared about the safety of NY and it’s citizens and Anywehre else in the world…What a better world we would live in!

    wanna be
    wanna be
    13 years ago

    Reply to #3,I don’t get it! What’s wrong with “east midwood”? Its a great organization and has as much “wanna be’s” as Hatzoloh does…

    baruch
    baruch
    13 years ago

    Unbelievable! After all these years of muttering, “what’s the rush, a fresh batch of donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts?”, it’s stunning to discover that it is true. Ha!

    NOT the first time and not last
    NOT the first time and not last
    13 years ago

    Please Mr. Councilman, This is a major problem and NOT an isolated incident, please take this opportunity to do a full review and let’s find a better way the deal with police corruption especially in the traffic division of the NYPD.
    Thank you!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    #35 couldn’t put it better myself!!!!!!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Almost every day, on the cor. of 76th st and Ft Hamilton (coming from the st.), there is a “Brownie” waiting for you to get the green light and make the left turn onto Ft Hamilton where it’s still red, so you end up with your tail end into the intersection, and they give you a ticket, It’s like he is looking at you and daring you to make the left turn, now legally? maybe he is right, you did end up into the intersection (even thou it’s a T-section only), but morally, what the heck else can anybody do in that area??

    Btw. You should see the amount of ppl coming back the next day to take pictures, maybe hoping to fight the ticket? Good luck to them…