COP SLAYING AGAIN PITS RUDY VS. REV. AL

Mayor Giuliani yesterday rushed to the defense of an undercover narcotics
cop who killed an unarmed man as the Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that feds
intervene in the case, saying "we can't trust local prosecutors."

"There's no question that there was a struggle that took place here," the
mayor said. "There's no question that the person who was killed has a
criminal record. He's been arrested for robbery, attempted robbery, and
possession of a gun. None of that is reported on the news."

Yet official records show shooting victim Patrick Dorismond, 26, had pleaded
guilty to two disorderly-conduct charges in 1993 and 1996 -- including an
arrest in which no gun was ever found -- and had a sealed juvenile arrest.
He also was busted in 1996 for possession of marijuana, but the record was
wiped clean after six months.

"He put his life at risk ... he did things most of you wouldn't have the
courage to do," the mayor said of Detective Anthony Vasquez, who fired the
fatal shot at Dorismond early Thursday.

Vasquez's lawyer said the cop accidentally shot Dorismond after he lunged at
him.

Sharpton, who said the Dorismond family contacted him to represent them,
said he'd go over the heads of local law enforcement to get federal
officials involved. A meeting has been set Monday with Loretta Lynch, the
U.S. attorney in Brooklyn. Her office refused comment.

The Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office started an investigation of the patterns
and practices of the NYPD in the wake of the station house sodomy of Abner
Louima in 1997. The probe is ongoing, but Lynch is in negotiations with the
city over potential reform.

"We can't trust local prosecutors to investigate this case," Sharpton said.
"Enough is enough."

Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields, the city's top black elected
official, said the shooting should convince police they must change their
procedures.

"Why did a street scuffle escalate into a fatal shooting?" Fields asked.
"Without jumping to any conclusion, New Yorkers are justified in asking
several questions."

Other civic leaders also were troubled over the shooting, coming a little
over a year after four cops shot and killed African emigre Amadou Diallo in
a hail of 41 bullets. The cops were tried and acquitted last month, but the
criticism of police brutality has rocked the NYPD.

"I don't like what I see on the face of it," City Council Speaker Peter
Vallone said of Dorismond's death. "I haven't the foggiest idea why a gun
had to be used."

Hillary Clinton, who is running against the mayor for a U.S. Senate seat
from New York, said she was "concerned," but would "wait to see the
investigation and the results of that investigation."

Though Sharpton called for federal intervention, Herb Haddad, a spokesman
for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, was vague about such
involvement. The case is being investigated by the Manhattan district
attorney's office, and a grand jury will begin hearing evidence soon.

"We will stay apprised of that investigation as it proceeds," he said.

According to officials, Dorismond was killed during a struggle with
undercover narcotics officers on Eighth Avenue near West 37th Street. The
off-duty security guard grew angry when one of the officers approached and
asked if he and another man knew where he could buy marijuana, sources have
said.

Officials said the two men attacked the undercover officer, prompting
Vasquez and another back-up officer to move in. During the scuffle,
Vasquez's pistol went off.

"Why was Patrick Dorismond accosted in this fashion?" Fields asked. "Is it
because he was a black man and he fits a police profile? ... It is time to
curb the use of special undercover police units and time to return to
community-based policing."