VICTIM'S DAUGHTER GETS TEST-Y WITH OFFICERS

August 12, 2001 -- CHRISTINA Baez wants mandatory drug and alcohol
testing for any on-duty cop involved in a tragic car crash.

Baez is motivated by the blood that oozed out her 78-year-old
father's ears in May after a police van in hot pursuit of a motorist
in Midtown pummeled her dad, Ubencio.

She doesn't know if the cop who hit her father was ever tested.

She was distracted by her father's broken leg, busted ribs and a head
injury that left him deaf in one ear and, after seven weeks in
Bellevue Hospital, unable to keep his balance when he moved his head.

The terrible memory of her father's former vivacious life was
rekindled this week when Officer Joseph Gray, an off-duty cop who was
allegedly drunk behind the wheel, killed four members of a Brooklyn
family just hours before he was to report to work.

It has left Baez, of Manhattan, and many wondering how Gray's fatal
car crash would've been handled if he was on duty, in uniform and in
a police cruiser. She also wonders about her dad's accident.

"If it was the other way around, if he hit a police officer, I'm sure
he would've been tested for drugs and alcohol," said Baez, 43.

Current Police Department policy requires cops to be tested only if a
supervisor suspects the officer is under the influence. Likewise with
firefighters and EMS drivers - who are usually ordered by
investigating cops to take a test.

State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan) said Friday he'll
use the Gray case to amend and reinvigorate a stagnant bill requiring
cops to take drug and alcohol tests after deadly force is used. The
amendment would add traffic accidents.

"The logic behind it is if you're not under the influence of alcohol
or drugs, you shouldn't object to it," he said.

Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik disciplined 17 cops and announced
plans for reform - but he didn't provide the specifics that could
impact the majority of good cops who don't have a drinking problem.

One easy, credible step is mandatory testing at all on-duty traffic
accidents and deadly-force cases.