Highs and lows of Mulvey's career
Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi discuss the gun buyback program during a news conference at police headquarters in Mineola. (Dec. 22, 2008) Credit: James Carbone
The highs
- A 10.8-percent drop in crime in Nassau in 2010 compared with the year before.
- Installation of ShotSpotter, a sonic detection device that instantly pinpoints location of gunfire. Put up in 2009 in Uniondale and Roosevelt, the system is credited with catching suspects quicker, helping to discourage shootings and speeding medical care to the wounded.
- The gun buyback program, which Mulvey initially opposed. He went on to become a vigorous supporter of the program and partnered with leaders in high-crime areas to sponsor them. The buybacks netted some 1,800 guns since beginning in December 2008.
The lows
- Mulvey was grilled by Nassau legislators in 2010 after national accreditors found numerous violations in the police crime lab and singled it out as the only accredited lab in the nation on probation. Presiding officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) called the episode "a crisis of confidence" in Mulvey. Mulvey conceded he didn't know about the lab problems until days after it was put on probation. The lab has since been removed from police control and placed under the county's medical examiner.
- Department took more heat over its handling of the Jo'Anna Bird case, which involved a New Cassel woman who was murdered in March 2009 by an estranged boyfriend with a documented history of assaulting her. Seven cops were slated for discipline after a review found they didn't properly investigate during four visits to the home of the woman's mother, including one just days before the fatal stabbing, despite an order of protection. Mulvey has never revealed what the discipline was - or whether the officers were disciplined. Bird's family has a pending federal lawsuit.
