Opinion
2001-03583
Argued September 23, 2002.
December 30, 2002.
Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, dated April 11, 2000, which, after a hearing, terminated the petitioner's employment with the Police Department of the City of New York.
John Z. Marangos, Staten Island, N.Y. (Joseph Sorrentino of counsel), for appellant.
Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Stephen J. McGrath and Alan Beckoff of counsel; Dennis Z. Schwartz on the brief), for respondent.
Before: SONDRA MILLER, J.P., WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, STEPHEN G. CRANE, REINALDO E. RIVERA, JJ.
DECISION JUDGMENT
ADJUDGED that the determination is confirmed, the petition is denied, and the proceeding is dismissed on the merits, without costs or disbursements.
The determination of the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (hereinafter the Commissioner) that the petitioner was guilty of the two charges at issue was supported by substantial evidence (see CPLR 7803; 300 Gramatan Ave. Assoc. v. State Div. of Human Rights, 45 N.Y.2d 176, 181). It is well settled that hearsay evidence can form the basis of an administrative determination (see Matter of Gray v. Adduci, 73 N.Y.2d 741, 742; Matter of Curto v. Cosgrove, 256 A.D.2d 407, 408; Matter of Roldan v. Bratton, 203 A.D.2d 368).
"In matters of police discipline, we must accord great leeway to the Commissioner's determinations concerning appropriate punishment, because he, and not the courts, is accountable to the public for the integrity of the Department" (Matter of Berenhaus v. Ward, 70 N.Y.2d 436, 445; see Matter of Kelly v. Safir, 96 N.Y.2d 32, 38). Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the penalty of dismissal is "so disproportionate to the offense as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness" (Trotta v. Ward, 77 N.Y.2d 827, 828; see Matter of Alfieri v. Murphy, 38 N.Y.2d 976, 977; Matter of Pell v. Board of Educ., 34 N.Y.2d 222, 237).
S. MILLER, J.P., FRIEDMANN, CRANE and RIVERA, JJ., concur.