Jay Poggi, fired NYPD detective who accidentally shot his partner, sentenced on DWI, assault charges, DA says

A fired NYPD detective who had pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol was sentenced Tuesday to an alternative treatment program for first-time DWI offenders, the Queens district attorney's office said.

The sentence for Jay Poggi, 57, stems from an April incident in which he shot his partner, Det. Matthew Sullivan, in the right wrist while showing him his Smith & Wesson revolver, authorities said. Poggi had pleaded guilty in October to the charge and third-degree assault.

Poggi, who had been a 31-year NYPD veteran, was ordered to hear from a victim impact panel, an awareness program for first-time DWI offenders in which they hear from victims whose lives have been affected by a drunken driver. His license has been suspended, and he must pay a $500 fine and have an ignition interlock device placed on any vehicles registered in his name.

"If for any reason, the defendant, who is a first-time offender, fails to comply with all the requirements imposed by the court, then we will seek more severe sanctions," Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement.

Poggi has already finished a 12-week alcohol treatment program that was part of his plea deal, prosecutors said.

His attorney was not immediately available to comment Tuesday.

The detective was dismissed from his job in May, after an NYPD internal affairs investigation. Both Poggi and his partner were assigned to the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn but were off duty at the time.

He was inside a car at about 3 a.m. on April 24 in the Howard Beach section of Queens when he was showing his gun's hammer to Sullivan and it discharged. Poggi drove his partner to the hospital after the shooting and was arrested after other officers noticed he had bloodshot eyes, and he failed a field sobriety test.