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As a boy, Robert Reecks was fascinated by cars and motorcycles. He dreamed of being a police officer.
As a man, he owned a <a href="/topics/Harley-Davidson%2C_Inc.">Harley-Davidson</a> and spent three decades rising through the ranks in the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County_Police">Suffolk County Police</a> Department. 
Saturday, Reecks, who was off duty, died when his unmarked police car crashed into a concrete bridge support on <a href="/topics/Sunrise_Highway%2C_NY">Sunrise Highway</a> in <a href="/topics/Moriches%2C_NY">Moriches</a>. He was 57.
Reecks, a detective sergeant, was a 30-year police veteran. For 13 years, he headed the department's bias-crimes unit until he was replaced in January.
He led investigations into a wide range of hate crimes -- from the painting of a swastika on a <a href="/topics/Nesconset%2C_NY">Nesconset</a> barbershop and vandalism of a <a href="/topics/Ronkonkoma%2C_NY">Ronkonkoma</a> church to the high-profile beatings of Mexican day laborers in <a href="/topics/Farmingville%2C_NY">Farmingville</a>.
Reecks was born Feb. 8, 1954, to the late Edward and Clyde Winona Reecks of <a href="/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">Great Neck</a>, both of whom were New York City public school educators and civil rights activists. Edward Reecks was a member of the 1944 Class of the <a href="/topics/Tuskegee_Airmen">Tuskegee Airmen</a>.
Robert Reecks was aware of racial prejudice and social injustice at an early age.
"We had grown up in civil rights times," said Robert Reecks' eldest sister, Debra Reecks-Rodgers, 62, of <a href="/topics/Elmont%2C_NY">Elmont</a>. ". . . We have dealt with fostering integration all of our lives."
Robert Reecks graduated from Great Neck South Senior High School in 1974 and went on to study at <a href="/topics/Queensborough_Community_College">Queensborough Community College</a> before landing a job with the Hertz rental car company.
In fact, Reecks always loved cars, Reecks-Rodgers said. "From age 5 he could tell you the make and model of any car," she said.
What excited him most, though, was getting accepted into the police academy.
"It was the happiest day of his life," Reecks-Rodgers said.
Reecks started as a police officer in 1981, rising through the ranks from a road supervisor to officer in command in the highway patrol bureau and DWI unit. In 1992, he became one of the few African-Americans to earn a sergeant's rank in the Suffolk County Police Department.
In 1998, then-Police Commissioner John C. Gallagher appointed Reecks to lead the county hate-crimes unit. In 2003, he became special assistant to the commissioner, replacing Det. Wes Daley, who had retired.
"I could always rely on him for being honest and straightforward with me," said Gallagher, who retired from the commissioner's job in 2004.
Reecks' police work was honored by the New York Law Enforcement Foundation, and his efforts to fight hate crimes were recognized by the <a href="/topics/Anti-Defamation_League">Anti-Defamation League</a> and other groups.
He was a civic-minded neighbor -- the first on the block to report potholes or broken streetlights, said Joann Bonne, who has lived next door to Robert and his wife Rita Reecks, 61, in <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a> since 1994.
"He was just a great person all around," said Bonne, 42.
Other survivors include his sister Marcia Reecks of Los Angeles; brother Warren Reecks of Fort Washington, Md.; and stepsons Michael and Joseph Caputo. Funeral plans have not been announced.
With Jeremy Schneider

LICOP07

Reecks' straightforward honesty remembered

reecks - cropped

A <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County police hate-crimes unit supervisor who led numerous high-profile probes over 13 years was killed Saturday in a pre-dawn single-car accident on <a href="/topics/Sunrise_Highway%2C_NY">Sunrise Highway</a> in <a href="/topics/Moriches%2C_NY">Moriches</a>.
Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, 57, was off duty in an unmarked department-issued car when the 2008 <a href="/topics/Ford_Motor_Company">Ford</a> sedan veered off the road and hit a concrete bridge support at 5:32 a.m., police said.
A 30-year police veteran, Reecks had served as commanding officer of the bias-crimes unit during major investigations -- including the beating of day laborers in <a href="/topics/Farmingville%2C_NY">Farmingville</a>, and the stabbing death of Ecuadorean immigrant <a href="/topics/Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a>. In January, Reecks was replaced as head of the unit but continued as second in command. 
"He played a role in building stronger relationships with the minority community and worked to reduce hate crimes through education," Police Commissioner <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Richard Dormer</a> said in a statement. "His death is a loss for the police department and the community."
 County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, whom Reecks had publicly criticized over bias crime investigations, said, "This is a sad day for <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Det. Sgt. Reecks' family and friends." 
Police said Reecks had worked a 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift Friday night, and that they were investigating how he spent the hours before the crash.
A paramedic who stopped to help smashed a window and took Reecks' pulse, finding him unresponsive, said Donald Dixon, a motorcyclist who also stopped to help after the crash.
Dixon said he was driving in the right lane when Reecks' car passed him traveling an estimated 90-100 mph. "He hit that abutment and it just disintegrated," Dixon said of the <a href="/topics/Ford_Motor_Company">Ford</a>.
Police are investigating whether speed was indeed a factor, said Det. Lt. Gail Marrero.
"Who knows what the speed was?" said the Seventh Squad's Det. James DeMarco. "All I know is there was massive damage to the car."
Marrero said there was no indication drugs or alcohol were involved, but couldn't rule it out until after hearing from the medical examiner.
Reecks, of <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a>, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It makes you realize how fragile life is," said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-<a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a>), who worked closely with Reecks in his role in the bias crimes unit.
Reecks' family said it was in "shock and mourning".
"Rob was loved by his family and friends, and he will be missed terribly," the Reecks family said in a statement.
Reecks had served on the Suffolk County Legislature's Hate Crimes Task Force until he abruptly resigned after he was replaced as head of the bias crimes unit.
Shortly after, Reecks told Newsday that his ability to solve hate crimes was compromised in 2004 when <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> won election. "They came in and they started to shut it down . . . All of a sudden it was, no, you are not doing that, no, that is not a hate crime," Reecks said at the time.
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> denied Reecks' claims at that time but said police policy changed so that hate crimes were investigated before the public was notified. 
In 2010, Reecks was interviewed by the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">Justice Department</a> in its ongoing probe of allegations that police routinely mishandled complaints by Hispanic residents. That probe is ongoing.
"He was a cop's cop," said Suffolk County Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-<a href="/topics/Amityville%2C_NY">Amityville</a>), chair of the hate crimes task force:
"I know he was frustrated with the politics with the administration and his demotion . . . I respect him for speaking his mind. I know a lot of police officers respected that. He was a stand-up guy."
Civil rights advocates said Reecks was dedicated in his fight against hate crimes.
"I always found him to be a true fighter in the face of crimes, and acts of bias and prejudice and hatred," said Rabbi Steven Moss of B'nai Israel Reform Temple in <a href="/topics/Oakdale%2C_NY">Oakdale</a> and chairman of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission.
With Mark Harrington, Jeremy Schneider, Kery Murakami,
Sandra Peddie
and Robert E. Kessler

LIFATA07

Hate crimes cop dies in off-duty crash

A coalition of immigrant advocates called Monday for the expansion of a federal probe into claims of discriminatory policing in Suffolk to also examine tensions between County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> and the former head of the police hate crimes unit. 
The advocates also met in <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a> with officials from the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">U.S. Department of Justice</a>'s Civil Rights Division, to raise their concerns. 
Henry Fernandez, a senior fellow with the <a href="/topics/Center_for_American_Progress">Center for American Progress</a>, who was among those at the meeting, said Justice officials should look at how a conflict between <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s office and the unit "hampered the ability of the Suffolk Police Department" to complete hate-crime investigations. 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> placed Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, who commanded the Suffolk Police Department's hate crimes unit, under a higher-ranking supervisor in January. 
Reecks, who resigned from the county's hate crimes task force in January but remains as the unit's deputy commander, complained that the <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> administration controlled communications issued by the unit and failed to notify the public of ongoing cases. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s office countered that it sought thorough investigations before labeling cases as hate crimes. 
The federal investigation was started in the aftermath of the 2008 killing of Ecuadorean immigrant <a href="/topics/Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a>, assaulted by a group of teens targeting Latinos in <a href="/topics/Patchogue%2C_NY">Patchogue</a>. 
"The public dispute that's been going on . . . speaks to a pattern of practice and the inability to investigate hate crimes," said Anthony Miranda of the National Latino Officers Association of America. 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s office responded in a written statement Monday, saying it only wanted the unit to follow proper procedure. Reecks could not be reached, but the department supported Levy's comment. 
"We are sure the Department of Justice will recognize that the definition of what is and what is not a hate crime is determined through New York State law, and cannot be influenced by the administration," Levy said. "How Suffolk County investigates, reports and prosecutes hate crimes is of utmost concern to us." 
A Civil Rights Division spokeswoman said there was an ongoing investigation but declined to comment further.

LIJUST15

Seeking to widen Suffolk hate crime probe

liIMMI15

Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, whose 13-year tenure as commander of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County's hate crimes unit ended abruptly two weeks ago, describes himself as a cop who simply wants to do his job. 
But he contends that his ability to do that job, to aggressively carry out the mission of his unit - solving hate crimes - was compromised by the administration of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>. 
It might be easy to dismiss Reecks' views as rising merely from the bitterness of his sudden replacement in the unit where he is now deputy commander. But that would be selling Reecks and his years of experience short. 
For more than a decade - through two police chiefs - Reecks was the most recognizable public face on fighting bias-related crime on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>. 
"He told me what I needed to know, not what I wanted to know," said former police Commissioner <a href="/topics/John_White">John</a> C. Gallagher, who put him in the job in 1998. 
In an interview with Newsday, Reecks, 56, described what he called an ever-tightening rein by the Levy administration on how cases were handled, as well as what information was provided to the public. 
The change began, he said, soon after Levy won the county's top elected position in 2004 - riding a local tide of anger against illegal immigration. 
"They came in and they started to shut it down . . . all of a sudden it was, no, you are not doing that, no, that is not a hate crime," said Reecks. 
Levy, who describes Reecks as a "prima donna laying the groundwork for a lawsuit," acknowledged that, for years, the administration kept a tight rein on Reecks' work. And he said part of that effort was controlling communications from the division. 
Reecks said he is not planning a lawsuit at this time. 
Is Reecks a whistle-blower or a disgruntled employee? One thing is certain: He's a man used to working within the framework of a police department, not willing or able to adapt to the county's top elected official so closely monitoring his work. 
Levy's office killed or altered news releases designed to aid the division's investigations, Reecks said, and sometimes failed to notify the public of solved hate-crime cases, such as that of a 20-foot swastika painted on the ground in <a href="/topics/Centereach%2C_NY">Centereach</a>. 
Over time, every draft public communication from the division was routed to Levy's office - mostly to Dan Aug, Levy's press secretary - where, Reecks said, often they were sanitized of such language as "hate crimes." 
Levy said releases are sent to his office to give him a chance to comment; and that at one point police department policy changed so that hate crimes were to be investigated before the public was notified. 
Reecks said that the choke on communications, however, directly affected the division's ability to close cases. "It's how we get leads," he said, "how we get the word out, how we find other victims and how we let everyone know we've solved a case, which is important so people know this is serious." 
There came a time when Reecks, who often tells schoolchildren he would lock up his own grandma if she committed a hate crime, felt he was left out of cases he should have been investigating, he said. 
He first learned about the racially divisive John <a href="/topics/John_White">White</a> case by reading it in Newsday. "If I had been up there at John <a href="/topics/John_White">White</a>'s house, those kids could have been locked up for inciting a riot," he said. White was convicted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of <a href="/topics/Daniel_Cicciaro">Daniel Cicciaro</a>, one of the teens who had come to White's house to confront his son. None of the teens were charged with a crime. 
Police Commissioner <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Richard Dormer</a> said the case went quickly to the district attorney's office, and then a grand jury, which handed up charges against White. 
Nearly three years later, Reecks said he was third on the list of interviews when the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">U.S. Justice Department</a> stepped in last year to begin its ongoing investigation into the county's handling of hate crime complaints. 
He said county officials were upset that he wanted to speak with investigators alone - which he ultimately did. It was during that interview, Reecks said, that he asked flippantly whether the police department might punish him for speaking to federal investigators. The investigators' response, said Reecks: Let us know if that happens. 
On Friday, a spokeswoman for the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">Justice Department</a> would say only, "The department's investigation remains open and ongoing. We decline further comment at this time." 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police officials said the only reason <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> wanted to have a representative in the interview was to "capture suggestions" through the <a href="/topics/U.S._Department_of_Justice">Justice Department</a> questions about ways to improve police work in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a>. He said officials learned only as the interview was about to begin that Reecks had wanted to speak to investigators alone. 
As for retaliation? No, there has been none, Levy said. 
One irony, Reecks said, is that he could have helped Levy. "I could make Levy look good if he would just let me tell the story." 
What story? 
That hate crime patterns have been consistent in Suffolk County over the years, Reecks said. And that there continues to be fewer hate crimes against Hispanics on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> - even since Levy took office - than against Jews, African-Americans and gays. Most attacks are not on people but on property. 
Levy and <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Dormer</a> said they were surprised when Reecks abruptly quit a county anti-bias task force last week. They said he would remain second in command at the police department's hate crimes unit. 
Reecks said he left the task force after being called to account by his superiors for comments he made during two task force meetings. 
He's not quitting the police force, he said: "I'm a Suffolk County cop with a job to do."

Columnists

Joye Brown

LIJOY23

Hate-crimes cop says Levy has interfered

Robert Reecks 

The Suffolk Legislature's hate crimes task force, already mired in controversy, suffered a new setback Tuesday night as the deputy commander of the police department's bias crimes unit unexpectedly resigned. 
Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, who commanded the unit until last week, read a resignation letter to task force members at the outset of their meeting in <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a> Tuesday night, saying, "Recent events have occurred . . . that have directly affected my ability to continue to represent the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County_Police">Suffolk County Police</a> Department Hate Crimes unit" as part of&nbsp;the task force. 
The department installed Det. Lt. Stephen Hernandez as commanding officer as of last week, leaving Reecks as the deputy. Reecks said task force inquiries should be directed to Hernandez. 
Lawmakers set up the task force in the aftermath of the killing of Ecuadorean immigrant <a href="/topics/Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a> in <a href="/topics/Patchogue%2C_NY">Patchogue</a> in 2008. It will hold public hearings and look at how to improve handling of hate crimes. 
The task force meeting is the first since Task force Chairman Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-<a href="/topics/Amityville%2C_NY">Amityville</a>) criticized the <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> administration earlier this month for getting an early copy of a draft report on the hate crimes issue before it could be reviewed by the task force itself. 
The panel voted "to take full control of the report" using the draft as a basis for completing the document. It set no deadline, but Gregory said he hoped the work could be completed in two months. 
After Reecks' resignation, task force members expressed appreciation for his work and concern for the loss of his experience. Reecks, 56, a 30-year police veteran, declined to comment further after the meeting. 
Gregory said he was "totally surprised" by Reecks' move. "It unfortunately sets us back because he was our only expert on hate crimes," he said. 
Police officials said the installation of Hernandez was an attempt to elevate the status of the unit and the attention to bias crimes. Asked about the resignation, Suffolk Police Commissioner <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Richard Dormer</a> said through a spokeswoman that Reecks "should have communicated to his superiors his desire to step down from the Suffolk County Hate Crime Task Force prior to tonight's meeting, especially considering that he was appointed to this position directly by" <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Dormer</a>. 
The spokeswoman said the possible replacement of Reecks on the task force with Hernandez is "under consideration." 
Roberta Richin, executive director of the Council for Prejudice Reduction, said Reecks is <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a>-trained and has experience with hundreds of local bias cases. "The issue is who is the most experienced to command," she said, "Reecks absolutely has the experience," adding the change is "regrettable but reversible." 
Mark Smith, a spokesman for County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, declined to comment. 
 <object width="512" height="288"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.newsday.com/swf/newsday/newsdayVP.v.2.08.swf?videoId=26581"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></object>

LIHATE19

Suffolk hate crimes unit deputy resigns from task force

Robert Reecks

The Suffolk police unit charged with investigating bias crimes will have a new commander with a higher rank, according to the police commissioner, who said the move will elevate the unit's stature. 
Det. Lt. Stephen Hernandez has been named the new commanding officer of the Hate Crimes Unit, Commissioner <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Richard Dormer</a> said Friday. 
Hernandez, a fluent Spanish speaker, has held several positions in the department, including internal affairs investigator, <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Dormer</a> said. 
"We upgraded the position to detective lieutenant. It's a very important unit, like homicide and special victims," he said. "He's a competent commander and this will add another dimension to that unit." 
The unit was led by Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, who remains as deputy commander. 
The group came under intense scrutiny after the death of <a href="/topics/Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a>, a 37-year-old Ecuadorean immigrant who was fatally stabbed in a racially fueled attack in <a href="/topics/Patchogue%2C_NY">Patchogue</a> in 2008. <a href="/topics/Jeffrey_Conroy">Jeffrey Conroy</a>, 19, of <a href="/topics/Medford%2C_NY">Medford</a>, and six others were convicted in connection with the attack. 
In the attack's aftermath, critics said the department had failed to adequately investigate several other attacks on Latinos. The federal government began an ongoing review of Suffolk's handling of crimes reported by Latinos. 
A Suffolk police official last week said Lucero's death and its aftermath led to a nearly 30 percent jump in hate-crime reports in the county. 
The change was one of 21 promotions that will go into effect Wednesday. Capt. Stanley Grodski of the Internal Affairs unit was promoted to deputy inspector. Deputy Insp. Gerard Gigante was promoted to inspector and will remain the gang suppression team's commander. 
Correction:&nbsp;A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Grodski's new title. 
&nbsp;

LICOPS08

Suffolk hate crimes unit gets new commander

Complete coverage: Suffolk County hate crimes officer killed

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