The New York Post’s callousness is to blame for the anguish of Robert Ameri, father of NYPD Inspector Michael Ameri, 44, who committed suicide last week, top police officials are charging.
Capital New York reports the Captain’s union leader and other senior law enforcement officers are furious with the Post for posting news of Ameri’s suicide before the NYPD had an opportunity to notify his family and release an official statement.
Ameri’s father first learned of his son’s death from the Post’s website, while other media outlets withheld the information until the NYPD issued an official statement later that afternoon.
“This is not a TV show. These are real human beings who feel pain, love, and are loved.
Basic human dignity should not be superseded by a tabloid’s rush to be the first internet report on an individual tragedy,” said president of the Captain Endowment Association, Roy Richter.
An anonymous police official said the Post editors were unrepentant when contacted about the early release of the information. “They were unapologetic they did not care at all,” the source said.
NYPD Commissioner Bratton publicly said this week that Ameri was not in the crosshairs of the ongoing federal corruption investigation into the department.
He said Ameri had cooperated with authorities and it is unclear why Ameri chose to kill himself.
A spokesperson for the Post declined to comment about the incident.
