Before Rhamell Burke allegedly threw Ross Falzone off the subway steps and killed him in a shocking random attack, he allegedly attacked three Port Authority police officers. Here, Frank Conti, president of the 1,800-member Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, writes that criminals and violent mentally ill people are released far too often in New York:
Ross Falzone was a man who devoted a career as an educator to New Yorkers. As a 76-year-old retiree, he enjoyed his later years and all that New York City had to offer.
That was until last Thursday, when he failed instead of New York City thanking Ross.
The murder of Ross Falzone might never have happened if his alleged killer, Rhamell Burke, had been held in custody after his Feb. 2 arrest for attacking three Port Authority police officers.
In that case, the police did what the public expected: arrested a violent criminal suspect. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also did what the public expected and charged the suspect with four felonies and four misdemeanors.
Yet during Burke’s first court appearance, according to New York Criminal Court records, he was released on his own recognizance on “non-monetary conditions.”
A release that allowed him to roam the streets of New York City freely and allegedly commit a series of crimes, behavior that may have ultimately led to the murder of Ross Falzone.
Mom outrage too late
It has been reported that Burke was taken to Bellevue Hospital as an emotionally disturbed person about six hours before the murder of Ross Falzone, but was discharged an hour later. That decision left Ross Falzone with just five hours to live.
Mayor Mamdani said he was “shocked by the murder of Ross Falzone and the circumstances that led to it,” and ordered NYC Health & Hospitals to investigate Bellevue’s firing of Burke.
Of course an investigation is warranted, but why didn’t the mayor show the outrage felt by millions of New Yorkers and question why a failed system that coddles criminals allowed Rhamell to remain on the streets after assaulting three officers and a series of other crimes and arrests?
Why didn’t the mayor demand an investigation into those circumstances?
In the announcement from the mayor leading the hospital investigation, he said, “New Yorkers deserve answers.”
Yes, Mr. Mayor, and Ross Falzone deserved better.
