Two high-ranking NYPD officials have been stripped of their guns and badges Thursday morning amid an FBI probe of suspected corruption in the department, reports the New York Post.
Deputy NYPD Inspector James Grant, commander of the Upper East Side's 19th Precinct, and Deputy Housing Chief Michael Harrington were placed on modified duty and transferred, Police Commissioner William Bratton announced.
"This is not a particularly good day for the department," Bratton said at a press conference.
The action against Grant was taken hours after The Post reported that he allegedly accepted diamonds and cash from one of the businessmen at the center of the federal probe.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn South Deputy Chief Eric Rodriguez and Deputy Chief David Colon have also been transferred, though not stripped of their guns and badges, police said.
A high-ranking source told The Post: "I'm disappointed. It's a distraction and it takes away from all the good work that we've done."
Bratton said he met with Diego Rodriguez, the assistant director of the FBI, and his team at police headquarters on Thursday morning to discuss the probe.
"The NYPD initiated an investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau at the end of 2013," he said in the statement.
Asked why it took this long to place the high-ranking cops on modified duty, he said: "All of you are very familiar with these investigations. They take time."
