NYPD deputy chiefs Eric Rodriguez and Andrew Capul have filed for retirement, joining the exodus of officials heading for the exits amid a massive corruption probe.
Rodriguez, the executive officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, and Capul, executive officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, filed Tuesday at One Police Plaza.
The moves come a week after Deputy Housing Chief Michael Harrington and Deputy Chief of Housing David Colon, and James Grant, the commanding officer of the 19th Precinct, submitted their papers after being linked to the gifts-for-favors probe.
Capul has been reassigned to administrative duties while Rodriguez was transferred to the Support Services Division as probers worked to determine what their involvement in the scandal may have been.
The department now has 30 days to decide whether to approve their retirements or fire them. Both have more than 20 years on the job, so don’t risk losing their pensions even if they’re arrested.
Detective Michael Milici previously tried to retire after being stripped of his gun and badge. But he was ultimately fired last month, becoming the first cop to lose his job because of the federal probe.
Commissioner Bill Bratton said last month that he expects arrests and disciplinary action against officers implicated in the probe being conducted by the feds and Internal Affairs Bureau — and that some “might choose to take retirement” rather than risk embarrassment as more information becomes public.
Roy Richter, president of the Captains Endowment Association, cautioned against a rush to judgment.
“No one has filed for service retirement with administrative charges pending or has been identified by federal investigators as a target of their investigation,” he said.
