Opinion
August 14, 1997
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County [Paula Omansky, J.].
Respondent's determination that petitioner should be dismissed was not based on petitioner's alcoholism, but on his inappropriate conduct in sliding down an escalator bannister in a hotel, in the nude, while in Washington, D.C. to attend the solemn occasion of memorial services for slain police officers (see, Newland v. Dalton, 81 F.3d 904, 906, citing, inter alia, Maddox v. University of Tenn., 62 F.3d 843; Little v. Federal Bur. of Investigation, 1 F.3d 255). Recognizing respondent's accountability to the public for the integrity of the Police Department (see, Trotta v. Ward, 77 N.Y.2d 827; Matter of Shaya-Castro v New York City Police Dept., 233 A.D.2d 233), the penalty does not shock our sense of fairness. We have considered petitioner's other contentions and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Wallach, J.P., Nardelli, Rubin, Tom and Andrias, JJ.