The following is a WCBSTV report:
The traffic agent accused of terrorizing Queens residents is the source of more outrage.
CBS 2 first told you about Agent Daniel Chu, who was ordered to undergo sensitivity training for badgering drivers. Now, there’s a new complaint that has some calling for his job.
There are some things you just can’t change, and too-big-for-his-britches Traffic Agent Daniel Chu appears to be one of them.
“I’m very angry. I’m very annoyed that someone like that works for the city, that our tax dollars pay for someone like that to be employed,” Tammy Fox, of New Rochelle, said.
Tammy Fox is Agent Chu’s latest victim. She was in the dirt near Elmhurst Hospital, trying to fix her flat tire, when Agent Chu sauntered up. Instead of offering help, like most New Yorkers would, he slapped her with a ticket.
“I said to him, ‘are you kidding me? You’re very insensitive. I’m going to visit my friend in the hospital who had cancer, and I’m trying to fix my flat tire, and you’re standing here writing me a ticket?'” Fox said.
Tammy hit the nail on the head when she used the word insensitive. The very day she got the ticket, CBS 2 told you that NYPD brass docked Chu’s pay and ordered him into sensitivity training for a raft of run-ins with the public and Queens Councilman Daniel Halloran.
“Apparently, the sensitivity training didn’t work,” Councilman Halloran said.
Halloran caught Agent Chu breaking enough traffic laws to lose his license – speeding, going through stop signs, using flashing lights, talking on a cell phone – just to get a cup of coffee. Halloran then received hundreds of complaints from constituents about Agent Chu, who even reportedly slapped tickets on members of a funeral procession.
“[The latest incident] demonstrates this particular traffic agent has no business being in a uniform,” Halloran said. “You have an obligation to the citizens. Someone, a female, a young female fixing her car by herself, at the foot of her tire that’s flat, and you’re going to write a summons? It’s absolutely the wrong message.
“I’m absolutely outraged that the police department could consider keeping this man in a uniform at any location,” Halloran said. “He belongs riding a desk somewhere.”
Councilman Halloran says Agent Chu’s behavior is so bad, the Civilian Complaint Review Board should be expanded to include complaints against traffic agents.
(Source: WCBSTV)
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7 Responses
Y is this guy any different than all the other traffic cops??
They’re ALL mushcasim!!
Do not think for a second that this is an anomaly. The only reason this came to light is because he, stupidly, started up with a councilman. Traffic agents such as Agent Daniel Chu are a dime a dozen.
“He belongs riding a desk somewhere.” Why? He should be out on his rear end! He should not be on the public’s payroll.
Being retired law enforcement, I can offer you this suggestion: Don’t muck with city hall about this rogue officer. Take ALL the complaints to the State Board that certifies him as a law enforcement officer and go for his license. That procedure will get you more and better results. Judging from the info in the story, he needs to go.
Exactly HADASA, why in the world should he (if it’s true) be getting a desk job?
#3 hadassah – Right you are!!!
This guy and the many like him should all be on the unemployment line!
I would venture a guess that he may be part of a Union. If so, it is probably easier to re-assign him to a desk job which will at least alleviate the complaints, rather than try to fire him, which requires a lot more paperwork to prove ‘due cause’.
I agree with Working Guy that most other Traffic Agents are just as inconsiderate. This guy is just getting the well-deserved attention because of the publicity from the councilman. Is is a by-product of the system that is more revenue-generating oriented than enforcement. They are hired specifically for, and encouraged to (through quotas, commisions, or whatever other incentives) write more and more tickets. As a result they really don’t want us to obey the law. They just want to be able to write us tickets to generate money for the city and themselves. That is why most police officers don’t respect us or the law, and certainly don’t obey the laws themselves. They have become used to the idea that the only reason to obey the law is to avoid a ticket. And since they would never get a ticket, they don’t obey the law.
Practically every day I see Police Officers talking on cell phones, double parking, or doing other illegal actions while not involved in any emergencty.