New-York tribune., 1920-12-03
reinstatement Had Been
denied to Many by Ex-
commissioner Woods
After Rehearing Cases
Laws Were Passed
10 Uphold Returns
One of Thiriy-four Who
Got Into Uniform Again
" as Dismissed i'm 1909


Since Janucry IL Ne'c YoyA
City:
There hare desA more thou $50
hold-~ps, 'odberjes ond thefts.
The property loss inrolved is
more than $500 900.
The ~nsolved murders alone
total more than 100.
A survey Of The official police orders
on the number of reinstatemerts or
policemen dismissed by former ad-
mlnlstrations indicates that Conr,iS-
sioner Enright has overruled his prede-
cesSors in thirty-four cases.
All but three OF the men were re-
lnstated under Section lo43-A of the
charter, which provides that Q rein
statement applicant must make appji.
cation within one year Of his dismissal
Many Of these mad been dismissed
and had been denied reinstatement bv
Commissioner Arthur Woods after q
fehearng of their cases. One man
vas dismissed in 1908.
The Citizens Union says, after an in
vcstigation, that many OF the rein
statements are illegal.
Three p&trolmen sought The aid Of
State Senators known to be spol,cs,acn
for the administration, ands succeeded
III getting laws passed applying only
to their cases. These laws directed
the Police Commissioner to reopen
their cases if there we're found any
reasonable grounds for believing the
penalty imposed upon the patrolmen
was too severe. The Commissioner fol-
lowed this procedure and the three
men are back in uniform
Action by Legislature
But the action Of the Legislature was
not taken, according to official police
orders, until after the Citizens Union.
on October 5, 1919, had threatened to
institute taxpayers action to test
the legality OF Enright's action in over
ruling his predecessors decisions or
dcring the dismissal Of the offending
policemen and the conrt decisions sus-
tanning the commissioners
The October 5, 1919, statement Of the
Citizens Union reads, in part:
"The Citizens Union makes the fol
lowing statement of the result of the
recent investigation OF the Police Com
miss toner's action in rcinstating DO
liccmen who had been dismissed from
the force or reduced in rank as far
back as 1908:
"In eighteen. or about so pcr cent. Of
the cases in which the Police Commits
sioner has reinstatcd policemen, the
Commissioners action WAS contrary to
the findings Of TIE Appellate Division
Of the Supreme Court that the dismis-
sal Of the policeman whom the Com
missioner reinstatcd was justified
"The city charter provides that a
dismissed or reduced policeman, upon
written application to the Mayor with
in year after the enactment of the
provision in 1915. or within year
after his dismissal, may in the Police
Commissioner discretion have re-
hearing of the charges upon which he
was dismissed or reduced, and that if
that the policeman was Illegally or un-
justly dismissed or reduced the Com
missioner may reinstate him.
Reinstatement of Men
Investigation discloses that men
who were dismiss or reduced rs far
back rs 1908. and whose applications
for rehearing had been denied by
Mayor Mitchell or whose dsmssa had
been confirmed on rchearing by Com
missioner Woods, have, nevertheless,
been rcinstatcd by the present admin
istrstion."
Some of the outstanding cases of
follow:
Lieutenant william Mahcr. He was
tried and convicted by Commissioners
Woods of borrowing a sum OF money
from a patrolmnn in his precinct on
the plea that he needed the money
for rerating in q Civil Service Com
mission examination for promotion to
captain. The testimony at the trial
was that Mahcr had pledged as security
for the loan house he said ne owned
but which later proved to be the prop
erty Of his vi G. Mahcr tried the
courts for reinstatement but was un-
successful He returned to the de-
partmcnt after a rchearing by Enright
Continued en- psso slx)