NEW YORK _ A New York Police Department detective and his supervisor were both stripped of their guns and shields after the detective was caught drinking in uniform after the funeral of a fellow officer, officials said Wednesday.
The on-duty detective was returning from burial services for Queens Detective Brian Simonsen in Hampton Bays, Long Island, on Feb. 20 when he was seen popping a beer on a Manhattan-bound Long Island Rail Road train.
Simonsen was killed by friendly fire as he and a handful of cops tried to stop the robbery of a cellphone store in Richmond Hill on Feb. 12.
So many cops attended his Suffolk County funeral that the LIRR added an extra train to transport them to and from the service.
When a sergeant from the Police Academy tore into the detective for drinking while in uniform, the detective's supervisor, a sergeant from the same Queens squad, defended the detective before apologizing for him.
"I hope you defend him as much at his GO-15," said the academy sergeant, referring to an Internal Affairs Bureau disciplinary hearing.
The academy sergeant recorded the interaction before the detective, the squad sergeant and his wife _ who is also a cop _ got off the train at the next stop, sources said.
He then reported the incident to IAB.
An NYPD spokeswoman said the matter was "under internal review."
"As a result of the incident two members of the service, one detective and one sergeant, have been modified," the spokeswoman said.
The names of the officers were not immediately disclosed. The sergeant's wife is not facing discipline, police said.
Cops are forbidden from drinking while either on duty or in uniform, except if they are undercover officers, authorities said.
