A Staten Island cop is suing the NYPD after he was allegedly demoted for ignoring “get out of jail” cards issued to officers’ friends and family.
Mathew Bianchi, 40, of the traffic police, said he usually respected the maps but became frustrated when he saw the same people stopping repeatedly.
“I was a little naive and I thought that if I do the right thing and I haven’t done anything wrong, it’s very difficult for someone to put into words that he can punish me,” he told The New York Times. “By doing the right thing, my career has clearly suffered.”
By the time he started ignoring the cards, in November 2018, he noticed they were flashing six or seven times a day.
Mathew Bianchi, a Staten Island police officer, is pictured holding up one of the “get out of jail” cards issued to friends and family of NYPD officers
Union boss Albert Acierno (pictured) called Bianchi, Bianchi said, and told him he had ignored the Get Out of Jail cards
Bianchi ticketed his first ticket holder that month for speeding and running red lights, and a month later he received a call from union leader Albert Acierno, the second vice president of the Police Benevolent Association.
Acierno informed Bianchi that the cards were not to be questioned, Bianchi said The New York Times.
Bianchi said the union leader gave him the “brother speech,” telling him that officers are brothers who must help each other, and emphasized that the cards are an essential symbol of officers working to help each other.
But he said he strongly believes there should be no impunity for lawbreakers, even if they are friends or family of NYPD officers.
He said his interest in law enforcement may have stemmed from learning as a child in Los Angeles that his mother had been killed in a car accident.
“When I was a kid, I always joked,” he said.
‘I saw people driving badly and I wish I could be a cop and give that man a ticket. And that’s what I ended up doing!’
He later learned that she had been murdered. Bianchi, who was raised by his grandmother on Staten Island, said he had a strong sense of morality.
And he continued to issue the tickets when he encountered repeat offenders or particularly dangerous driving behavior. Bianchi said his colleagues turned on him.
Mathew Bianchi receives ‘agent of the month’ award in June 2023
“I would be beaten on Facebook, I would be beaten in the police groups,” he said, adding that retired officers were openly abusive.
“You would rather hurt a real family member than write one (1) less summons,” one person wrote.
Bianchi’s bosses also reportedly reprimanded him after fellow NYPD officers complained to their supervisors.
In August 2022, he stopped a woman who did not have a card but complained to a friend, a senior NYPD officer.
Bianchi claims in his lawsuit that after that ticket he was demoted to patrol work and unsociable hours, to the detriment of his family life. He was also overlooked for a promotion.
He said his transfer from the traffic unit was “only because the motorist I called in knows a supervisor and that supervisor is now angry with me.”
Bianchi filed a civil complaint in Manhattan federal court in June 2023, alleging that his superiors retaliated against him for his stand against the “corrupt” practice.
Bianchi’s attorney, John A. Scola, and a spokesman for the city’s legal department both told The New York Times that the parties were exploring a settlement, and that they have scheduled a meeting for Feb. 28.