It seems two NYPD officers had one hell of a night for themselves at a Bay Ridge bar earlier this month. Everything was going as it usually does whenever cops or firemen or, well, anyone is boozing hard in Bay Ridge—it was just before 4 a.m. on March 9th when some sort of stupid confrontation erupted between unidentified individuals and Officer Lester Sanchez, who was drinking off-duty with his female buddy cop Janice Caban at AM bar. But investigators say what should have been a routine Bay Ridge bar brawl got kicked up a notch when Sanchez started waving his gun around.
After the bouncer threw everyone out, a group of women reportedly attacked Caban. That's when Sanchez grabbed his 9 mm Glock out of his white Honda Accord and ran back to the bar. The Daily News reports:
He allegedly waved the gun at Caban’s antagonists, then pointed it directly at one of the women before stepping back into the street and firing a shot in the air, the report said. Sanchez then drove off alone without his gun, the report said.
Yes, Officer Sanchez reportedly fired his gun in the air and then drunkenly drove off, leaving behind the woman he was trying to protect AND his firearm. (Maybe Sanchez didn't want to get caught riding dirty, eh?) He was pulled over a block away; according to court papers obtained by the News, he was "disheveled and combative and had watery eyes and booze on his breath. A three-quarters empty 13-ounce bottle of Hennessy cognac was found in his car." BALLER.
Wait, it gets better: According to the court papers, when Sanchez was being questioned by Internal Affairs at the 68th Precinct stationhouse, his cell phone kept ringing, with the device showing that a woman named "Crystal" was calling. Finally the Internal Affairs sergeant answered and this "Crystal" said she knew where Sanchez gun was—but wouldn't reveal its location until she spoke with a police union delegate.
A half hour later, the woman called back and admitted she was Officer Caban, a rookie who, according to a neighbor, is often at Sanchez's home in Queens. She subsequently brought the gun to the stationhouse. Sanchez was charged with DWI and reckless- endangerment, and both officers were suspended from duty without pay pending the outcome of an investigation.
