COPS: JUDGE UNDERCOVER RULING PUTS US IN PERIL

The city's undercover cops are seething at a Manhattan judge who is trying
to force three of their brethren to give up what is, next to their guns,
perhaps their most precious, lifesaving asset - their anonymity.

The cops' anger centers on a controversial ruling in an otherwise ordinary
drug case. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Cropper wants three
undercovers to testify by name, in open court, against a homeless man
charged with selling $10 bags of cocaine in Washington Square Park.

When the cops refused to testify by name in a pre-trial hearing last week,
she barred all testimony and evidence concerning the undercover buys -
virtually ensuring narcotics prosecutors will lose.

Yesterday, the judge gave lead prosecutor Jamie Pukl two more weeks to
decide whether to appeal the decision.

"This is insane," said one Brooklyn undercover. "Does she realize that
she's jeopardizing those officers' lives, and their families' lives?"

Brooklyn lawyer Jack Evserov, who has represented both cops and accused
drug dealers throughout the five boroughs over a 50-year career, said he
had never heard of such a case.

"It's true that you, as a defendant, have a constitutional right to face
your accuser," Evserov said.

"But I've always seen the judge protect that right, and the undercover's
safety, by simply clearing the courtrooms during that undercover's testimony."

Detective John Badyna, one of the uniformed cops who made the arrest in the
cocaine case, said, "All three of these guys have other cases, including
high-profile cases where they're out there buying heavy weight.

"We have to protect these guys."