Joseph Gray

Joseph Gray is a former New York City Police Department officer who killed three pedestrians and the unborn child of one of them (who died after being delivered by emergency Caesarean procedure) on August 4, 2001, while driving drunk in Brooklyn. It was later discovered that other officers had been drinking with Gray in a topless bar and at a precinct parking lot before the incident. Five officers were suspended and five were transferred, including the precinct's commanding officer, executive officer and integrity control officer.

The New York Times cited the incident as an example of the blue wall of silence, "the tradition of the police lying or looking the other way to protect their own", because of the attempts of some of Gray's colleagues to get him off. The New York Times compared the incident to the testimony of Frank Serpico and the assault of Abner Louima. The sentence left Gray eligible for parole in five years. Gray was denied parole for the third time in February 2011, after having spent 10 years in prison. The parole board determined that Gray's release was "incompatible with the welfare and safety of the community," and that there was a "reasonable probability" that Gray would violate the law again if released. He was released in 2012.

Investigation of police misconduct Gray was arrested by officers from his own precinct. The issue had been raised even during the trial, when the "exasperated prosecutor, speaking in open court, voiced his unhappiness with the handling of the case by officers". The family members were represented by Johnnie Cochran and Derek Sells.

Legacy 150 people gathered at the site of the incident on the first anniversary of the deaths. The playground next to the site has been renamed Herrera-Peña Park.