The NYPD has warned cops to steer clear of trucks spraying mosquito-killing pesticides, even though Mayor Giuliani insisted yesterday the chemicals are harmless.
“There is absolutely no evidence that anyone is harmed by this in any way, unless you go right up to it, put your nose next to it, and inhale it directly,” said Giuliani, when asked about the memo to cops.
But NYPD operations order No. 33, issued in May, outlines safety procedures to be taken by cops assigned to escort pesticide trucks through the streets this summer.
Officers are to keep patrol car windows rolled up, set air conditioning to recirculate, and “under no circumstance shall any department vehicle follow spray trucks,” the operations order said.
Cops on foot are warned to keep at least 25 feet from passing spray trucks. All cops in the vicinity of spraying will be assigned “an exposure number” by their sick desk.
“There’s obviously a little discrepancy between what the mayor says and what the Police Department feels is safe for their officers,” said Councilmember Kathryn Freed, (D-Manhattan), a spraying opponent. “It’s amazing to me that the mayor keeps saying it’s safe.”