Shelter residents are among the city’s most needy, but that didn’t stop three peace officers from swiping basic hygiene products from them, according to officials and court records.
Thieving trio Pradeep Roy, Donna Valentine and Sequoya Zimmerman stole nine boxes of Nair hair remover and seven boxes of Veet hair-removal shower gel from the Tillary Street Women’s Shelter in Downtown Brooklyn on Sept. 9, authorities said.
A fourth unidentified person was involved but has gone AWOL and has not shown up for work, according to the Department of Homeless Services, which oversees the peace officers with the NYPD.
“This despicable act disrespects the very New Yorkers who these officers have sworn to protect and undermines the values that our peace officers uphold every day,” said DHS spokesman Isaac McGinn. “There is absolutely no place for conduct like this in our shelters or in our city, and with our partners at NYPD, these individuals will be held accountable.”
The items were supposed to be distributed to the shelter’s residents, who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse addiction, according to a criminal complaint and ICL, the nonprofit that oversees the shelter.
But Warren Wright, the shelter’s program director, spotted the officers on surveillance video around 3:30 a.m. taking the items from a storage room and stashing them in a black garbage bag, which they then brought to the women’s locker room, the criminal complaint states.
One of the officers involved in the incident, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity, claimed that some donations to the shelter are thrown away “a few times a month” because they’re not allowed in the facility.
“A supervisor that was on duty explained to us that the items that we touched were donations and they were going to be discarded because the clients could not have it because of the chemicals inside of them, it’s flammable,” said the officer, who has been suspended without pay.
“We just felt like if they were going to throw it away, someone else could actually use it instead of throwing it out,” the officer added.
But DHS said the items were specifically purchased for the shelter’s residents so they wouldn’t have to bring razors with them.
The suspect who talked to The Post indicated that three officers planned to use the products on themselves. The peace officers earn between $32,000 and $51,000 a year, city records show.
It is unclear how the other two officers might have been disciplined. DHS said it would be taking “immediate” action against the suspects and may seek termination, pending the outcome of the case.
A DHS source said similar thefts occur frequently at city shelters.